A Place in Time
by Eternal Thief
Summary: Naruto is thrown back in time once the world is destroyed. Waking up Two years before he originally graduated the Academy, Naruto sets out to correct his future. Non-Yaoi. No Pairings as of now. AU. A different take on Time Traveling Naruto.
1. Prologue

A Place in Time

A/N: I needed something else to occupy my mind. So I'm trying my hand at a Time-Travel.

---Start---

A large desolate barren landscape stretched outwards for miles upon miles. Barren, charred and burnt trees stood like sentry skeletons. Their lifeless limbs stretching towards the endless expanse of the bloodied red sky. A single wind drew its breath across the landscape as the sands slowly shifted under its unguided movements. Nine separate bodies lay strewn across the landscape, black cloaks surrounded them, hiding the limpness of their deceased bodies.

Amid the death, a single figure stood. A long crimson cloak billowed around his form. A long trailing ribbon flowed from his left bicep. The cloth was a deep black, its ribbon flecked with fresh, and dried, blood. A metal plate was attached to the cloth. The metal plate bore a symbol similar to a leaf. This symbol was the mark of a village. A village known as Konohagakure no Sato. The Village Hidden in the Leaves. This symbol had a single line drawn through it. This line represented more than anyone would care to comprehend.

The figure was tall. His red, nearly maroon, hair flowed gently in the breeze. blood flowed freely from a large gash on his stomach. His bare chest glowed in a faint red glow from a design drawn on his navel. The glow was a stark bright boiling red. It emanated from the seal drawn on the man's skin. This seal contained a beast of immense power, a beast known only as the Kyuubi no Kitsune. In the hand of the man was a long katana. Blood slowly flowed in runnels down the blade. On his back was a large sword wrapped in bandages. On his left was the hilt of a sword, decorated in gold and emerald, however, no blade was attached. The man's cold midnight blue eyes surveyed the landscape. As he stood, the wind slowly died out.

The man was having an internal conversation. _"It's finally over. All of it. They're all gone. Every last one. We can all rest in peace." _A deep rumbling voice from within the glowing red seal responded.

**"Such a shame there isn't anyone left to revel in your glory isn't it kit?" **The man gave a small smile.

_"Still so cynical eh Kyuubi? Even in death I guess our old habits don't die." _The voice gave a low rumbling chuckle.

**"I suppose you're right. There isn't anything left. No Akatsuki, no Konoha, no one." **The man, whose name was Uzumaki Naruto allowed a single tear to fall. Crying was not a luxury he had allowed himself during the battle. **"Have you ever stopped to wonder how many people died because of what you did? How much was lost?" **Naruto closed his eyes as images flashed through his mind.

The cheerful eye-smile of his sensei, Hatake Kakashi. The smiling face of Haruno Sakura. The gluttonous grin of Akamichi Chouji. The lazy disinterested stare of Nara Shikamaru. The shy sparkling eyes of Hyuuga Hinata. The stoic face of Aburame Shino. The boasting cheerful visage of Inuzuka Kiba. The slightly disapproving, but kind, glare of Yamanaka Ino. The stoic fate obsessed persona of Hyuuga Neji. The exuberant and excited Rock Lee. The smiling Hiroshi Tenten. The cheerful eye of the Sandaime Hokage. The drunk sleeping form of Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage. The motherly yelling picture of Shizune. The bearded and smoking Sarutobi Asuma. The bright red glistening eyes of Yuuhi Kurenai. The many faces of the citizens of Konoha. The hundreds of thousands of people across the Elemental Countries who had been killed in the rampage of the Akatsuki.

_"Too much." _Kyuubi nodded. Those two words held so much within them, that it was nearly impossible to comprehend what they truly meant to him. The Kyuubi listened as Naruto began to speak once more. _"I suppose that it's time I held up my end of the bargain isn't it Kyuubi?" _The Kyuubi blinked. It hadn't truly expected him to be willing to release him, even after it was all said and done.

**"And release me to what? This giant endless wasteland? So I can watch for millions of years as you beasts rise from nothingness once more? No thanks. Instead, how about I help you out one more time?" **

Naruto didn't know how to respond. In his twenty-six years of life, he had never expected something like this to happen. _"I don't see how Kyuubi. But, if you want to, I don't think there's much I can do to stop you." _The Kyuubi grinned within its cage.

**"I'm doing this because I won't be able to come with you. I'll be lost forever. But at least you won't be. I promised myself I wouldn't tell you this, but I've come to see you as somewhat as my successor." **Naruto was speechless. The Kyuubi thought that highly of him? **"Now I want you to fix all this. When I come back again, I want it to be in a world worth living." **Before Naruto could ask exactly what he was going to do, a bright red and blue light engulfed him.

The last thing he remembered before losing consciousness was a white stucco ceiling and pale canary yellow walls, and an uncomfortable bed and a lumpy pillow underneath his head.

---End---

A/N: I have ideas for this one. Plus I've always wanted to try a Time Travel. And this doesn't mean I'm abandoning my other stories. They're just sorta on hold. Life is busy for me right now.


	2. Graduation?

A Place in Time

Chapter 2: Graduation?

A/N: Hey everyone. Thanks for all the Favorites and Story Alerts. they're all greatly appreciated! I'm working some more on this story since I want to make it good. Although my formula seems very static and over-used, my difference comes in WHAT happens. Every Timeline is different right? Plus, I'd like to give a special shout out to my one reviewer from Chapter 1: Prologue, **RedHaruka96**! Thanks for taking the time to review a prologue!

---Start---

The Sandaime Hokage stood over a small futon in a small dilapidated apartment. The white stucco ceiling was cracked and breaking, and the pale yellow walls were fading in color and sported several large holes. A rickety table stood on a peeling linoleum floor, a wheezing and coughing refrigerator stood near it. The counter was rotted and dirty and the stovetop was cracked and broken in many places. The sink was dented and rusted in many areas. The carpet was thin and worn and had been beaten through in several places leaving large holes in the fabric. The window panes were dark and smudged, and the wood paneling was thick and peeling with absorbed water. As Sarutobi observed these things, he couldn't help but feel at least a little bit responsible.

Although Sarutobi had tried to prevent the mistreatment of Naruto, there was very little that he could do. When he had been younger, Naruto has frequently received beatings and attacks. They lessened as he grew older, and soon only drunks and vagrants attacked him. The drunks usually in some misplaced anger over the same event that drove them to end up piss drunk in the first place, and the vagrants thinking maybe he had something worth a bit of cash on him. However, a mob of some sort usually formed on the tenth of October. These mobs weren't those that involved the whole town. Mostly just a decent sized group of those who had just lost a fortune on some form of betting, just won a fortune on some form of betting, those who were drunk off their rockers, and those who simply had nowhere else to go.

These mobs came together for a single intent and purpose. The death of one Uzumaki Naruto. Now, these mobs never made much progress. As soon as someone started chanting, "Kill the Demon." They were being tracked by ANBU. And as soon as someone stated the name "Uzumaki Naruto," as the intended recipient of the mob's misdirected feelings, they themselves became recipients of their own intents. The Third's Decree was swiftly executed with extreme prejudice in the village of Konoha. The boy, Naruto, was under the protection of the Decree, which read as follows:

'_Any person or entity, other than Uzumaki Naruto, who chooses to reveal the secret of the containment of the Kyuubi no Kitsune within Uzumaki Naruto will suffer from the highest form of capital punishment under the orders of the Third Hokage for reasons of Subterfuge, Treason, Revealing Level S-Class Village Secrets, and Endangerment of Civilians and Shinobi. Any person may be redeemed from this punishment only under the request of Uzumaki Naruto. Any citizen of Konoha seen or noted as mistreating, or acting in prejudice, against Uzumaki Naruto will suffer from a monetary penalty or carnal penalty depending on the severity of the action. Any Citizen seen committing an act of aggression or violence against Uzumaki Naruto, with the intent to severely harm, injure, wound, or kill Uzumaki Naruto will suffer from the same punishment as revealing the secret. This decree may only be repealed by the will of Uzumaki Naruto, or in the event of his death, the current Hokage._

_Signed,_

_Sarutobi Sasuke, The Third Hokage.'_

The death toll in Konoha had risen a striking fifty-seven percent after the issuing of the decree. Most of these deaths were from misguided and misdirected souls who were attempting to kill Naruto in order to act out some form of vengeance against the beast who had demolished part of their beloved village. The other part originated from assassination attempts. These attempts often came from Iwa or Kumo. Two Shinobi Villages that Konoha was not on good terms with. However, in each attempt, the assassin held no ties with any village, and there was no paper trail leading back to a possible source. However, Konoha suffered several budget deficiencies shortly after attempt. It was labeled as a filing error, or a misjudgment about how much things purchased had actually cost. There was never anything to link anyone back to the scene.

Sarutobi had done all that he could to prevent things like that from occurring once more. However, Sarutobi ran an entire village. He could delegate tasks to subordinates, but plenty of things required his signature, and nowadays Sarutobi was forced to carefully red through every document quite carefully. Gone were the carefree days of simply signing every paper that passed through his office, and only briefly checking over important documents. Many attempts had been made by several factions within Konoha, such as the Merchants' Guild, the Shop owners' Union, the Stall Owners' Guild, had all tried to slip things past him hidden within documents. What originally seemed like a formal request to change the kind of wood used in certain umbrellas on the stalls, a relatively minor issue, contained an article requesting that Stall Owners be granted the right to charge extra to Orphans and disadvantaged citizens if they so chose, and the right to harm said individuals should they disagree with the price without fear of any legal retribution. Meaning, if they wanted to, they could charge Naruto as much as they wanted for any of their merchandise, and if he made any sort of complaint about it, they could kill him. Needless to say that particular request was destroyed.

Although Sarutobi had done as much as he possibly could, it wasn't really that much. He stopped by to visit Naruto on his birthday of course, but then again he did that for all the orphans that he could. However, Naruto was the only orphan who he currently did such a thing for. All the other orphans had other caretakers who took over that responsibility or they were quickly adopted into a family. But beyond that simply pleasure Sarutobi was extremely limited in what he could do for the boy. He couldn't take care of a boy Naruto's age. He was far too busy with his duties as Hokage, and his son Asuma was too busy to take care of a child. As such Sarutobi was forced to interact as little as possible with Naruto. However, whenever he had a few spare hours Naruto was always there to fill that gap. He provided Naruto with a weekly Orphan Stipend provided to all Orphans living on their own after the age of five. However, it didn't amount to much. Sarutobi had placed Naruto in one of the tenements specifically reserved for orphans such as him, but he hadn't anticipated the rest of the tenement being deserted.

There wasn't much that Sarutobi could do beyond what he had already. The boy had a sizeable amount of money left from the stipends he had saved. Unfortunately this was due to many shopkeepers exercising their right to refuse service to anyone they chose. Those that didn't refuse him service offered him only low-quality goods. These ranged from near-rotting foods or expired milk, to low-quality clothing. The orange jumpsuit Naruto always wore was in fact originally sold as tundra climate rescue uniform. The thick padding offered layers of warmth while the bright color was an easily visible signal in thick white snow. However, it didn't sell particularly well in Konoha. The shopkeepers however, turned this to their advantage by offering it as the only item in a market available to Uzumaki Naruto.

Sarutobi sighed as he watched the peaceful boy slumbering on the futon before him. He had come to speak to Naruto about him attempting the Genin Exam the next day. It was unusual to say the least for a ten year old child to even attempt the exam. (In this story, it follows Canon as Naruto being twelve when he graduates.) He wanted to let Naruto know that he wouldn't be disappointed if he didn't pass the exam. Sarutobi had no doubts that Naruto _couldn't _pass the exam, but the exam given to early graduates was intentionally slanted to discourage them from graduating. This helped to promote mental stability and emotional maturity before graduation. Those that did manage to pass the test despite all the deterrents in place, truly deserved their spot as shinobi of Konoha. Unfortunately, many early graduates suffered from mental instability. Uchiha Itachi and Orochimaru were two examples. Kakashi had his own personal… quirks, but he wasn't on the level of mental deterioration that Itachi and Orochimaru were. Sarutobi was snapped out of his reverie as the body in front of him started to move.

Naruto opened his eyes slowly as they adjusted the dim glare of the light of his small apartment. He gave a slight groan as he came back to reality. The last thing he could remember was the Kyuubi's dark laughter as descended into the red vortex. He had no idea where he was, but he had a feeling that it wasn't a place he really wanted to be. As he thought through his next move, a voice Naruto thought he would never hear again registered in his mind.

"Naruto-kun, are you alright? You seem a bit restless." Naruto stopped moving. That voice. It couldn't be. _'But…but… he was killed years ago! How can he still be here!' _"Are you okay? You seem jittery." The aged Hokage's voice broke him out of the spell.

"Jiji? Is it really you Jiji?" Sarutobi looked down at the small boy that looked up at him with large watery tear filled eyes. Sarutobi had no idea what was causing Naruto's emotional mood, just that he needed to be comforted.

"Yes Naruto, it really is me. I'm here. What's the problem? Did you have a bad dream or something?" Naruto sobbed quietly into the Hokage's shoulders. He lifted his head at the Hokage's reassurance that he was real. It was all too surreal for him. The Sandaime Hokage was _alive._

"You… you could say that Jiji. I thought that you had died! It was all so… real." Naruto paused for a second to think. Was he dreaming? Or had he simply dreamed the war between Oto and Konoha? Had he just made up all those people? Were they all just figments of his imagination? He had one way to test it. He had to ask the Hokage the day. If it was the day after his Genin Exam, great. That meant it was all a dream. If it wasn't, then Naruto had some serious thinking to do.

"Jiji, what day is it?" The Hokage looked surprised that he would ask such a question.

"It's April 23rd. Tomorrow is the Genin Graduation Exam. You've been asking about it for a while, and as much as I want to, I can't prevent you from taking it early. You're only ten, but you're also your own legal guardian. I just wanted to make sure you understood just how big of a step this is. If you pass this test, you'll legally be considered an adult in Konoha. You'll be able to drink, smoke, publicly carry and or display weapons, and you'll be allowed into the more, _adult_ establishments." Sarutobi cleared his throat at Naruto's incredulous expression. This talk hadn't happened the first time he had run through this timeline. "Not that I expect you to participate in that sort of thing. Anyways, I just hope you understand what you may be getting yourself into."

Naruto smiled at Sarutobi's kind and caring words. He had missed the comfort that his grandfather figure had provided before his untimely demise at the hands of a certain Snake Sannin traitor. "It's alright Jiji. I understand the responsibilities that come with being a Genin of Konoha." Sarutobi smiled.

"So I presume you're going to wait the extra two years for supplementary Academy Training and try again later?" Sarutobi breathed an internal sigh of relief. Not having to worry about Naruto being a Genin for another two years was a weight off his shoulders.

"Hell no! I'm taking it tomorrow! You just watch me Jiji! I'll be the greatest Genin that Konoha's ever seen!" The weight that had just been lifted from Sarutobi came crashing back down.

"I'm sure you will Naruto. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have preparations to make for the new class of incoming Genin." However, Sarutobi's thoughts at that moment were far from deciding which Genin would be assigned to which sensei. He was focused on Naruto's statement. As he left the small apartment building he remembered Naruto's words, _'I'll be the greatest Genin Konoha's ever seen!' _under his breathy he spoke quietly to himself. "And that's exactly what I'm afraid of Naruto…"

Naruto sat on his futon, alone. The Sandaime had left a few minutes ago leaving the apartment nearly empty and devoid of life. Naruto had some thinking and planning to do. He stood up, gave a stretch to work out the soft muscles in his arms. He really had to get back into shape. Even if he was only ten years old he was still quite weak, and probably indefinitely slow too… Sighing, he walked to the small room he used as a bedroom. There, he rummaged through an old shelf before pulling out a slightly dusty, but fairly well taken care of, scroll. On the small writing desk he found a large pile of empty ramen cups, dirty clothes, and old sheets of paper. Doing the intelligent thing, he simply shoved it all off of the desk into a corner. Luckily, an unopened ink well still rested in the corner of his desk. Atop the small cabinetry on the desk he found a black quill. Opening the scroll, he unstopped the ink well and dipped the quill into it. He would have preferred a brush, but this plain script, not calligraphy or kanji. However, his years of extensive work in seals had driven a deep comfort of using a brush into him.

Despite his slight discomfort at using a quill, Naruto quickly began writing things out, speaking to himself as he often did while he worked. "Alright let's see. Apparently Kyuubi's jutsu worked and I've been sent back to a time where I'm ten years old. Fun." He quickly wrote down a note at the top of the scroll. _'Arrived at ten years of age. Physical condition: Deplorable. Body has little muscle mass and is severely malnourished. Most likely surviving off Kyuubi's chakra's ability to extract nutrients from nearly everything. Requires conditioning.' _Naruto glanced down at what he had written. He quickly and decidedly crossed out the words 'Kyuubi's Chakra.' It wouldn't do for anyone in this timeline to discover that he had knowledge of Kyuubi prior to his "learning" of it. He wrote another note down. _'Mental Condition: Preserved from previous timeline. Unsure of any possible side-effects from time-travel jutsu used by' _Naruto wrote Kyuubi down, but quickly crossed it out reminding himself to not give any clues that he wasn't the same ten year old he had been sixteen years ago. _'Possibility of mental deterioration or insanity is present. Must learn to control reactions to old acquaintances. Mustn't lose face as lovable idiot.' _Naruto noted what he had already written down. Below, he drew a straight line in a horizontal fashion, and at the end drew a much shorter vertical line crossing it. Beneath it he drew the kanji for _'ten.'_ After that he wrote _'Arrival.' _Beneath that he wrote out a sequence of events. _'Two years of Supplementary Academy Education.' 'Graduation from Academy from "Special Assignment."' "Assignment to Team Seven with Hatake Kakashi as sensei.' 'C-Rank Mission to Wave Country.' 'Chuunin Exam Participation.' _He continued in this fashion all the way down the lengthy scroll till he had recorded all the events of his previous timeline, just barely managing to fit, _'Eradication of Akatsuki' _and _'Use of Time-Travel Jutsu.' _at the very bottom margins of the scroll.

Naruto sighed as set down the quill for a moment. He had to make sure no one else found this scroll. If they did, he would have no idea how to explain it to them and would have to take one of three courses of actions. One, try to make up an explanation and hope they believed it. Two, tell them the truth. Explanation One was fine unless he had to re-tell it over and over, and then his details may become mixed up, or it may not fit with his past, and he could inadvertently lead to his own demise after being labeled a spy and killed. Option Two would most likely result in a metal evaluation and admittance to the Konoha Psych Ward, or his execution. Or Three, he could kill the offender and bury the evidence so deep no one would ever find out exactly who did it, why it happened, or how. Naruto had taken over for Tsunade in many of the day-to-day paper filing tasks in his previous timeline. He knew just which papers to file where to make something disappear, _for good._ However, Naruto didn't want anything to do with any of those outcomes. So, he had to make sure he hid this scroll very well.

After his internal debate about what to do if the scroll were ever discovered, Naruto decided to take very good care of the scroll, or take one of two other options. He could place a minor fire seal on the scroll, so that anyone who attempted to open without first disabling the seal caused the seal to erupt into a small pile of flames, or to attach a Chakra-Specific or Blood-Seal to the scroll. The Blood-Seal ensured that anyone who wasn't of direct relation to him would never be able to open the scroll, it had to be resealed with blood every time, a pain if nothing else. The Chakra-Specific seal would enable that unless someone could mimic the characteristics, potency, frequency, elemental affiliation, elemental saturation (how attuned to their elemental affinity they were), they wouldn't be able to open it. It was possible, nearly impossible, but still possible, to mimic chakra to open the scroll, or with enough influx, the seal could simply be overwhelmed and the scroll could be opened. However, the seal only required a copious amount of chakra to apply and needed no re-application after the initial sealing. Naruto decided that when he found the time, he would have to apply one. However, he needed to get back to finishing up the scroll before the next day.

He moved to the right hand side of the scroll, the left side covered in slightly sloppy, yet elegant, script. After all, a quill was different from a brush, but the basic principles of writing applied no matter what utensil you were using. At the top of the page he re-wrote _'Arrival at age ten.' _Beneath it he listed a single item. _'Talk with Sandaime Hokage before first attempt at Genin Exam.' _He decided it would be incredibly important to record each event that differed form his original timeline. He didn't know what effects his actions would have on this timeline. But it was his sincere hope, that at the end of the scroll, he wouldn't be writing about the eradication of Akatsuki, and the end of the world. He hoped he wouldn't be writing at all. He hoped, he truly did, that some other hand would take a quill and ink, and at the bottom of the scroll put, _'Death of Uzumaki Naruto due to Natural Causes.' _With an age and a date marked by it. Preferably the age would be quite an old one. Naruto sighed. He didn't have time for those thoughts at the moment. He glanced over at a small chakra-powered clock hanging on his wall. It was worn and busted in several places, and it consumed more chakra than it should have needed, but it was still fairly reliable. It was missing a second hand, and the hour hand was missing nearly half of its length, but was still fairly decipherable. The minute hand rested around where the '9' should have been placed, while the busted hour hand pointed vaguely near the '6.'

_'Almost 6 o'clock? I've got some time to burn. But what to do while I wait…?'_

Sarutobi sat behind a large mahogany wood desk. Its immaculately polished and shined surface reflected Sarutobi's face in all of its age and wear. He sighed as stared down at the reflection, willing it to just stop staring at him. He looked over at a stack of twenty-seven immaculately written Genin Exam Forms. Each one was written in careful flowing calligraphy and signed with an immaculate name on the dotted line. Sarutobi slowly worked his way through the pile stamping each one with a rubber seal showing that he approved for each student to participate in the Exam. It was more of a formality than anything. AS he reached the bottom of the perfectly white and stain free papers, there was a single grubby sheet of paper at the bottom. It was wrinkled and covered in stains from what appeared to be soup broth. The hand-writing wasn't exactly calligraphy, but it was fairly passable. The signature was also present. Sarutobi lifted the stamp and paused. After a moment of deliberation he let the stamp fall in an arc, imprinting a thick red inked mark in the corner. Approval for Uzumaki Naruto to participate in this year's Genin Exam as a possible early graduate was approved.

Now, most of the hopefully graduates were twelve years old. However, Naruto was only ten. Now, this was not due to an attempt by the teachers to put him in a class so far above his current knowledge that he wouldn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of passing. It was in fact, due to the same reason that Naruto was being given a chance to graduate early. Simply put, he was an orphan. Most children began the Academy at the age of eight. For two years they worked on basic shinobi skills and jutsu, and history and theoretical concept. Things that wouldn't necessarily be used as a Shinobi, but that could be potentially useful in an undercover mission. At the age of ten, or more specifically, at the end of the second year, the early-graduate option was offered. If signed by a legal guardian, the student would be able to pass a higher level exam to graduate early. However, in order to help prevent mental deterioration, students were mandated to be at least ten years of age before attempting the exam. Now, if the students didn't pass the early exam, or chose not to take it, they were enrolled in a series of 'Advanced Concept' classes. These classes were chosen individually by a student. They ranged from 'Flower Arranging,' to 'Chakra Manipulation Concepts,' to 'Flying Knives: The Art of Throwing Weapons,' to 'Pottery: Concept to Shelf,' to 'Clothing: Merchanting and Design,' to 'Advanced History Concepts,' to the most commonly taken course, 'Shinobi Preparation.' These classes were designed to allow hopeful graduates to gain skill in a separate profession in the event they weren't permitted to become Genin, or in case they were injured and forced to retire from Shinobi duty. If a student chose to follow that path, there is a much longer path one must follow, but its details are not important at the time.

Now, Uzumaki Naruto was at the age of ten, attempting to graduate with the other children of his class. He was considered and early graduate simply due to his age. He had no parents which offered him another unique opportunity in addition to Early Graduation. Early Enrollment. With his own approval, Naruto was enrolled in an entry level course at the allowed maximum of two years. Naruto barely passed any of the classes. Barely scraping along. His grades were abysmal and showed nearly no effort. However, due to the particular curriculum, a student could not be forced out of the Academy due to low grades. The only things that warranted expulsion were aging beyond the Academy's limits, and as a disciplinary action taken by the Hokage for certain, or repeated, offenses. Naruto, during his fourth year, took no supplementary "Civilian" courses. Instead opting for the purely Shinobi course. This was the sign of either an incredibly dedicated shinobi-in-training, or someone incredibly ignorant and thick skulled. Naruto was considered by many to be both.

In his original timeline, Naruto failed the Genin Exam twice due to his original inability to perform a bunshin of any sort, but also in part due to the surreptitious efforts of his 'teachers' to sabotage his skills. It was done partially in vengeance, but also partially in boredom. These acts ranged from switching his textbook with one missing large sections, to handing him a different test, to calling him out of class at the most inopportune moments. However, despite all of that, in his original timeline, Naruto had managed to overcome his disadvantage, with a slight nudging from Mizuki to take action, an action such as stealing the Scroll of Forbidden Seals. However, Naruto was now a ten year old boy, with the mindset of a twenty-six year old war-torn and hardened Uzumaki Naruto. He had already decided he wouldn't fail the Genin Exam.

Naruto had arrived at the conclusion that it would be best for him to pass the Genin Exam as soon as possible due to several reasons. One, he had already lived through the timeline where he began as a lovable idiot and slowly grew into a force to be reckoned with; it hadn't turned out so well. Two, this offered him more of an opportunity to change things. Being placed on a Genin Team two years ahead of most of his original comrades would offer him a different perspective. Three, he could pass it and he didn't really feel like sitting through two more years of supplementary Academy classes. Although he had the mindset of a twenty-six year old Uzumaki Naruto, he still didn't have that long of an attention span for something so menial.

With his decision made, Uzumaki Naruto stood in front of the large Academy building. The windows were dark and empty, the hallways deserted, the doors locked for the night. Despite all of this, Naruto still found a sense of reverie in seeing the old building once more. After all, it had been one of the first institutions removed from Shinobi lifestyle during the war. The building itself was killed in a bombing raid from the Akatsuki member Deidara during their terrorist reign over the Elemental Countries. Seeing the tall stone and brick building brought back many memories for the now young Uzumaki. Both good and bad.

"I never thought I'd see this building again. Then again, I never thought I'd see any of Konoha ever again." Naruto's words were spoken to a large and empty field. He placed his hand on the stone wall of the academy as he slowly traced old grooves and scars in the rock created by pranks or just plain weathering. But no matter how they got there, they bore meaning to Naruto. "I finally get to come back and have a chance to get a real Academy Education, and what do I decide to do, I decide to graduate as soon as I possibly can." As Naruto slowly walked away from the Academy building, if one looked closely, they would notice a single tear from the eye of Uzumaki Naruto.

A loud ringing noise filled the air as Naruto groaned and rolled over in his small bed. His hand reached out from a tangled mess of bed sheets and covers to clamp down on the offending device. The clock gave a small sputtering _ clank_ as its noise died down for another day. Naruto groggily lifted himself from his bed before finally glancing at the clock. The small alarm clock had no arms, and bore no numbers. In fact, it didn't even have a face. The small thing was salvaged by Naruto and he was able to set it so that it rang at approximately five –thirty every morning. It would be possible for him to reset it, but the amount of effort it took the first time, not taking into account the pliers, two by fours, three screwdrivers, and one pair of nail clippers that had been needed to set it, it just wasn't worth it.

As he slowly made his way towards his kitchenette area, he picked up a thick red marker he kept on a string hanging from his calendar. As he walked by he crossed out the day and noticed the writing. In his groggy state he had completely forgotten that today was the day his changes, hopefully, began. As he crossed out the day, the question on his mind was not the usual, what flavor of instant ramen would he be forced to have this morning, but rather, _what next?_

---End---

Lengthy on the descriptions I know. This is more of a carry-over/filler chapter. Next chapter, **The Genin Exam!** This chapter also introduces the fact that Naruto is going to be recording what happens in his new timeline. The events of his part timeline are revealed as he moves through this timeline. Well, hope you all enjoyed this chapter, took a while to write it all out.

Please leave a Review and Subscribe! More chapters to be coming soon!


	3. The Genin Exam

A Place in Time

Chapter 3: The Genin Exam

A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome back to A Place in Time, Chapter 3! I'd like to give a large thanks to the **three** reviewers from chapter 2! First up is Not Applicable (). An anonymous reviewer. To answer your question, there will be some things to differ this from most other time-travel fics. First off, his possible early graduation. Secondly, I'm trying to avoid introducing boatloads of constantly present OC's. How I do it, you'll have to wait and see. Second is **RedHaruka96!** Thanks fore reviewing BOTH chapters! I hope I don't disappoint! Third is **JudgMaster! **Thanks for your review! And his first C-Rank mission is still a mystery! Now, on with the story!

_Edit: February 26, It occurred to me, after reading several reviews, I had neglected to spell check my work. I apologize for this. This is the very slightly edited chapter containing several grammar, tense, and word fixes. If you have already read this chapter, there is no need to do so again._

---Start---

Hiatsusho Mataro was an instructor at the Konoha Shinobi Academy. He was a fairly average man. He had reached the rank of Chuunin after several years as a Genin. He wasn't exceptionally skilled and would probably never reach the rank of Jounin. He happened to, on this day, work in Academy Room number 417. Now, there was nothing wrong with Academy Room number 417. It was a fairly average classroom. It had the normal five rows of desks and the normal chalkboard at the front. Its desk was usually empty as teachers rotated in and out of the classroom occasionally. Konoha was fortunate to have a surplus of Academy Teachers. But what made this room truly special on this day was that Mataro was being given a chance to administer the Genin Exam. He had never been given this chance before and he was quite excited. This was a new experience for the Academy Teacher. What no one had told him was that the Infamous Prankster Uzumaki Naruto was going to be attempting the Advanced Test that day. If they had, then perhaps what happened to Mataro wouldn't have.

Uzumaki Naruto sat in the midst of twenty four screaming, chatting, yelling, over-hyped, and excited twelve year old Genin hopefuls. He glanced around the room. He didn't see very many people that he recognized. He gathered that most of them either failed their Genin tests, didn't participate in the Chuunin Exams, or they ended up looking quite different sixteen years down the road when Naruto could have possibly met them. Or, maybe, they had been killed before Naruto ever had a chance to meet them. Sighing he set his head down on his desk. He didn't know exactly what he was going to be asked to perform for this test, but he knew that it wouldn't be much of a challenge.

A hush fell over the students as Mataro walked into the room smiling. He looked over the students his eyes stopping on Uzumaki Naruto. His mind was instantly thrown into turmoil. Not because he thought of Naruto as the demon, truth be told very few people did, they just used it as an insult and blamed him for the death of the Yondaime, or any other variety of reasons, but because of Naruto's infamy for being a prankster. His eyes darted around the room, looking for any sort of trap or prank that could go off at any second. His mind was racing. _'He put something in here… I know he did! The stories about him tell that much. No teacher has ever even gone a single day without being pranked by Uzumaki Naruto! I have to be on my toes… I got to be sneaky! I can't let him know what I'm thinking. He isn't going to prank ME!'_ Mataro's enthusiasm served to help him cope with dealing with Naruto for the day. However, in the previous timeline, Naruto had indeed set up a prank for this teacher. It had resulted in his pants being glued on for about four days, and his hair turning hot pink for several weeks. In the original timeline, he had been thrown out for this prank. However, this time around, the teacher wouldn't step into the trap until several days later when he was cleaning up the classroom for the summer. Needless to say, at that point, there was nothing to show Naruto had set the trap.

Mataro, with his renewed confidence, stepped up to the front of the classroom. "Hello kids! Today you'll all be participating the Genin Exam." A cheer went up throughout the classroom. Mataro waited for the cheer to die down. "The exam will be administered in three separate sections. The Weapons Proficiency portion is first. You will be asked to show adequate skill in Kunai and Shuriken targeting, both stationary and moving. Second is the Informational Scenario test. You will be given a scenario on paper that you must describe how to handle in an acceptable and adequate fashion, meaning you must devise the best way to escape while taking minimal losses to your team and their supplies. Third, and last, is the Jutsu Proficiency Test. You will be asked to perform the three Jutsu taught here at the Academy. Now, if you are proficient in any other weapons you may demonstrate this to me and depending on your level of skill you may receive bonus credit for the Weapons Proficiency Test. The same goes for the Jutsu Proficiency Test. Now, the first portion of the test will be the Informational Scenario. Please prepare your brushes or quills. You will have an hour and thirty minutes to take this test." Mataro passed out twenty four manila colored sheets will a small amount of print at the top. He walked back to his desk, picked up a pink one and set it on Naruto's desk.

"As an early graduate you'll have to take one of the more advanced Situations. Please keep in mind your paper will also be graded on a much higher scale." Mataro carefully walked away, keeping half an eye on Naruto. He didn't know when he would try anything. However, all he saw was Naruto give a small smile before picking up a brush and dipping it into the ink well on his desk.

Naruto looked at the scenario before him. _'You and your team were participating in an undercover intelligence gathering mission deep within Iwa territory. You have just been discovered. A squad of nine ANBU level Iwa-nins are approaching your location. Your team is comprised of three Jounin and two Chuunin. All of you are low on chakra inhibiting the use of all but the most basic jutsu. You each have a supply of five kunai and seven shuriken. You have three and a half minutes to prepare for the arrival of the Iwa-nins. You also have very valuable information that must be delivered to the Hokage at all costs. A recovery team is waiting several miles outside with extra supplies and support. Your objective is to deliver the information, contained in a concealed scroll, to the Recovery Team while suffering minimal losses.' _Naruto looked at the question. He pondered just exactly what a team under those conditions could do. This question was nearly impossible for a Genin to complete, explaining its presence on the Advanced Test. Naruto quickly began brushing down his answers.

_'Each member of the team using what remaining chakra they can, must create as many normal bunshins as they can, while leaving enough excess chakra to perform an extended henge. Have the bunshins split up and divert across the city, attempting to draw the attention of the Iwa-Nins. Using an extended Henge, the true shinobi must transform into common insects or animals found in the area. While under the Henge, they must escape the building and head towards the Recovery Team. Their exceedingly low chakra levels will allow them to blend in more easily with local wildlife preventing the Iwa shinobi from tracking their chakra signatures. With the additional time bought by the Bunshin, the shinobi should have adequate time to reach the Recovery Team while suffering minimal losses.' _Naruto looked over what he had written. There were some things he had assumed, and some things that relied on luck, such as the Iwa-nin being fooled by the Bunshin. But overall, it seemed passable. Naruto set the brush down and stretched his arms over his head. He glanced at a clock, there were only a few minutes left in the exam. He glanced around to see that many were finished, while some were struggling to finish up their exam. He leaned back and closed his eyes and waited for the teacher to end the exam.

"Alright, everyone set down your brushes or quillsand hand in your tests. Naruto, place your test on my desk. It must be filed separately. Once you've handed me your test please report to the Practice Field for the Weapons Proficiency Exam!" The students stretched as they stood, chatting with their friends over what scenario they had been given and what they had written. Naruto set his paper on the teacher's desk and walked out the door, following the multitudes of students out to the field. Once they were all there, they waited for Mataro to arrive. He soon arrived carrying a large box of Shuriken and Kunai pouches. Set up at the other end of the field were targets. The two targets at the end of the field at the moment were stationary. In front of them were several long metal trays that sank into the ground. These trays were long and thin and contained moving targets for the next test.

"Alright students, you will each be given a pouch of kunai and shuriken. You will be asked to throw ten kunai at one target, and ten shuriken at another. The same test will be delivered a second time using moving targets. You must land at least fifteen shuriken and kunai combined in the acceptable target range. If you wish to display proficiency in additional weapons please approach me after the administration of this test." Mataro passed out pouches of throwing weapons to students allowing them a minute to be accustomed to the slightly heavier real weapons. As he approached Naruto he handed him two pouches and explained what his advanced test would be.

"You will be asked to perform the same test as the other students with slightly changed rules. You must alternate between still and moving and kunai and shuriken upon my command. You must also have eighteen kunai and shuriken within a small acceptable range to pass this test." Naruto nodded and took his two pouches. Their weight was familiar. The training weapons usually used at the Academy were lighter and blunted, being made of a weaker alloy. Naruto had grown accustomed to the real thing after years of use. He watched as the students one by one threw their weapons at the targets. Some missed a few, some made most of them. A few people didn't quite make it, but since the test only required you to score passing on two of the three sections and do decent on the third, they would still probably graduate even if they failed the thrown weapons. When it came to be Naruto's turn he stepped up to the line and strapped the pouches on. Turning he smirked at Mataro.

"Fire away Sensei." Slightly perturbed by the blonde's confidence, Mataro began rattling off instructions. "Three kunai! Moving, still, moving! Shuriken, Kunai, two Shuriken, Three Kunai! Still, Still, Moving, Still, Moving, Moving, Still!" No matter how fast he spoke the instructions, Naruto's hands continued to fly in perfect form. The black and silver metal glinted in the sunlight as they streaked through the air impacting the wooden targets. When the test was finished, Mataro was quite surprised to see twenty shuriken and kunai stuck in wooden targets, each one no more than a few centimeters from the dead center of the bull's-eye. There was definitely something strange about the kid. Mataro asked if anyone wished to participate in extra credit. Naruto briefly considered it, but he doubted they would have any full weight bokken (wooden training swords) or real katanas, or a real bastard sword similar in size to the ones wielded by Zabuza and Kisame. As such, he resisted in participating. The lighter training swords would simply throw off his balance, not to mention wielding a sword was far different from throwing weapons. Throwing Weapons were easily adapted to despite height and weight changes. Naruto knew if he attempted to wield a sword without practice, he would most likely end up failing in some fashion due to his changed center of gravity. A few students tried to show off sword skills, but they were pitifully untrained in kenjutsu. He guessed that a few of them would receive a few point since they managed to show that they planned to continue in the use of swords further along in their careers.

Mataro called everyone back inside to the small classroom where he explained the final Jutsu test. "You will all be called into the Exam room. There, I will ask you to perform a passably successful Kawarimi, Henge, and three Bunshin. You must be able to perform all three, no exceptions. If you cannot perform one, you automatically fail this portion of this test. However, even if you do not perform well on one, you may perform extra credit jutsu if you wish. Now, if there are no further questions, first up, Akado Matai!"

Naruto sat patiently meditating while he observed all twenty four students, one by one, enter the exam room, and leave with a Konoha headband newly tied on to some part of their body. At last, after minutes and minutes of waiting, Mataro called his name. "Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto rose, stretched his arms, and slowly walked down the steps to the exam room. As he entered, he found Mataro standing there, a gentle smile on his face. He hadn't been pranked all day, and he believed Naruto wouldn't attempt anything right as he was about to graduate. Mataro's thoughts turned inward at that.

_'Even if he completely and utterly fails this test, Naruto will still graduate. With how he did on the other tests the Hokage would probably force his graduation if nothing else. Well, from what I can tell he excelled on the written. He used knowledge most Genin don't even have, and to a very effective point too! But, he may decide to prank me if he knows he'll graduate! But he doesn't know about the written… I suppose I should just wait and see…' _ Naruto watched as Mataro began to sweat slightly, his smile becoming somewhat strained.

_'He's not going to attempt to anything is he? Well, even if he does I can disable him fairly quickly. I may have the body of a ten year old, but my skills should still be about the same…' _Mataro kept smiling as he finally began to speak.

"Alright Naruto, as I'm sure you know you'll be taking an advanced portion of this test. This portion involves you doing three successive Kawarimi, a near-perfect Henge, including small details, and five bunshin, plus an additional type of bunshin not regularly taught at the Academy. You may begin when you are ready." Naruto nodded. Without even moving his hand, he disappeared, a chair appearing in his place. Next, he appeared where Mataro had previously been standing. Thirdly, he appeared standing in front of Mataro the desk and chair on the other side of the room from where they had been previously, the same with Mataro and Naruto. The entire demonstration had only taken a fraction of a second.

_'That was a flawless Kawarimi Combo! He didn't even use _seals_! What is this kid? Not to mention he switched with _me_! Switching with living objects, of different mass and size too, is incredibly hard! This child is some sort of prodigy!' _Mataro looked at Naruto who was waiting for approval to continue. Mataro gave a slight nod to which Naruto formed the seal for Henge. He disappeared. Mataro glanced around. He walked a few steps forward and found nothing. Squatting down he looked at the floor. Where Naruto had previously stood was an insignificant miniscule dust mote. Mataro blew gently on it, and Naruto released the Henge.

_'He used seals this time, but an _advanced _henge? Those aren't even common amongst Jounin! This kid is something else. I'm nearly afraid to see what he has for the Bunshin test!'_ Mataro nodded once more to which Naruto nodded back. Without seals, five perfect Bunshin appeared in front of Mataro. He nodded. Naruto formed several seals before finally speaking the name of one of his jutsu.

"Konoha Bunshin." Mataro blinked in surprise. He had never heard of Konoha Bunshin. In fact, Konoha was one of the only two Great Five to _not _a bunshin technique specific to their country. However, rumor had it that several years ago Kumo had created a Rai Bunshin. No confirmation had been received though. But for a boy as young as Naruto to know a bunshin like that, where had he learned it? Mataro watched as the smoke cleared revealing six Narutos. In each of their mouths was a single green leaf. The one farthest to the right was first to speak.

"Mataro-sensei, do I pass?" Mataro marked something his clipboard before smiling.

"With flying colors Naruto. If I may ask, how did you create the Konoha Bunshin? I've never heard of such a thing!" Mataro was quite interested in how a boy, only ten years old no less, had created a new type of Bunshin! Naruto gave a small smile.

"It's simple. Bunshin are simply chakra-form constructs with a basic henge covering them for details. The basic Bunshin is simply a chakra construct in a human shape. What makes it easier than other bunshin is that it's only chakra, there's no substance to it. With other bunshins, you have to actively use your chakra to hold the material together to form the Bunshin. Once it's created, the chakra forms its own bonds and stays together. However, if one strikes a bunshin, the chakra construct is disrupted and it falls apart." Mataro nodded. He understood basic concepts behind Bunshin, but he had never thought to apply it to _leaves._ "Now, the Konoha Bunshin also have another interesting property." Mataro raised his eyebrows. He wanted to hear this. Naruto reached out a hand and punched a Konoha Bunshin in the face. However, the puff of smoke and scattering of leaves Mataro expected never came. Instead, the Bunshin merely shook its head and continued to smile.

Mataro was shocked. This _child_ had created a new type of Bunshin that wasn't destroyed in one hit! Forget prodigy, this kid was a _legend_ in the making! "But… but how! Bunshin are disrupted when you hit them!" Mataro knew the kid had to have some reason behind how this worked.

"It's the leaves." Mataro's face merely showed puzzlement. "Leaves have their own basic chakra circulatory systems since they were once living. As such, the chakra doesn't need to cling to itself to hold itself together. It flows through the leaves. Of course, enough damage to a clone will disrupt it, but it can survive multiple hits. However, unlike the Kage Bunshin and other forms such as the Tsuchi and Mizu Bunshin, the Konoha Bunshin lacks attacking power. While other bunshins are made of a solid or similar material held together by Chakra, Konoha Bunshins are made of individual leaves, while other bunshins are masses. As such, when a Konoha Bunshin attacks, it's the equivalent of a leaf hitting you in a breeze. Because Konoha bunshin are simply that. Leaves." Mataro nodded dumbly. This boy understood concept, creation, utilization, _and weaknesses of his own jutsu, _which believe it or not, many ninja overlooked, and he knew about Kage Bunshin. This boy was truly a Genin in a class of his own.

"Well Naruto, I think it's safe to say you pass with flying colors. Needless to say, your Konoha Bunshin technique will be put on record with you as its originator. Also, I'm putting in a recommendation to the Hokage. I believe you need to join a Genin team in their second or third year in the field. Your abilities surpass that of a normal Genin. Now, here's your headband, you are dismissed for the day. Please report back here tomorrow for your team assignment." Naruto bowed and accepted the headband. Tying it around his neck he thanks Mataro and exited the exam room. A loud 'Yippee!' could be heard not long after. Despite being mentally twenty six years old, Naruto still couldn't help but be happy at becoming a Ninja. It was a marked change from his last life. One that would hold many surprises for him in the future.

_The Hokage's Office, One Hour Later, 18:00_

Mataro entered the lobby of the top floor of the Hokage Tower. Bowing to the receptionist he spoke in a respectful tone. "Miki-san, would you please inform the Hokage that I have arrived with the results of this year's Genin Exam and wish to discuss the results and team placements with him?" The green eyed woman behind the desk gave Mataro a small smile while brushing a strand of brown hair out of her eyes.

"Of course Mataro-san. The Hokage has been expecting you. I will notify him that you are here." Miki stood up and walked to the wooden wall behind her. Sliding open a panel, a small circular seal was revealed. Channeling a small amount of chakra into it, Miki spoke into it. "Hokage-sama, Mataro-san is here with the results of the Genin Exam and wishes to speak with you." She paused for a moment before sliding the panel closed. "The Hokage will see you now Mataro-san. Please, go in." Mataro nodded to Miki and opened the door to the Hokage's office. Stepping inside, he approached the Hokage's desk. The Hokage had already cleared his desk in anticipation of his arrival.

Mataro bowed to the Hokage. "It is an honor to have the privilege of organizing team placements with you Hokage-sama." The Hokage just waved his hand in a non-chalet manner.

"Have a seat Mataro-kun. And please, call me Sarutobi." Mataro nodded and pulled up a chair to the other side of the Hokage's desk. "Now, what do we have to work with this year?" Mataro nodded and set out nine stacks of folders, three manila folders in each one. Except for the last one. The last stack was a single pink colored folder.

"I believe these would be the best the team placements Sarutobi-sama. I have organized the students into balanced groups based on their abilities, scores, class rankings, and future prospects." Sarutobi nodded. It didn't seem fair, but it was sometimes necessary to place three students who were likely to continue as shinobi together, and group three who weren't likely to make it. As much as it was looked down upon, it helped team unity and morale among better prospects. Sarutobi looked over the groups, leaving the pink folder alone. He occasionally moved one folder from one stack to another, switching a few around. Overall, very few changes were made.

"Well Mataro-kun, what do you think of these placements. I believe that with a little added direction these groups may work out in a better fashion." Mataro looked over the groups nodding at each one.

"You are correct Sarutobi-sama. These would work well, but why the extra focus on generalization over specialization?" Sarutobi took out his pipe, lighting it with a small flick of fire chakra from his finger. Taking a deep breath, he slowly exhaled, creating small smoke rings.

"I chose to focus them more on generalization since Konoha is lacking in many skills. Weapons and Taijutsu masters are severely lacking at the current time. With generalization, we offer Genin more of a chance to choose what they wish to pursue, rather than what they're directed towards." Mataro nodded. Without impending war it wasn't necessary to force specialization. He gave another nod, with an appreciative noise. He took several rubber bands, bundling each Genin team together.

"I suppose the chosen Sensei are acceptable even with the changed groups?" Sarutobi took a drag on his pipe.

"Yes. Although some sensei would be better suited to specific students, we cannot afford that many apprenticeships and we cannot risk one team unable to progress because of a sensei not suited to their needs. Now, is that all Mataro-kun?" Mataro's hand hovered over the last folder. The pink one.

"No Sarutobi-sama." Mataro said with a sigh. The Hokage merely raised his eyebrows, still smoking, at that. He hadn't expected anything else.

"And what else is there for us to discuss Mataro-kun?" The Hokage's face was light and jovial, the face of a friend.

"It is concerning Uzumaki Naruto's Early Examination." The Hokage's face suddenly became stern and serious. He had far too much experience dealing with those attempting to sabotage Naruto; he didn't take lightly to matters concerning him.

"Yes, what about his exam…" The Hokage left the statement hanging. It sounded more like a threat than a question.

"I do not believe that Uzumaki Naruto should be placed on a new year Genin Team. He doesn't have the skills for it." This caused the Hokage's eyes to gain a dangerous glint.

"Why is this Mataro-kun? It wouldn't be due to his _tenant_, would it? I also hope you're not trying to undermine Naruto's efforts by understating his skills either." The Hokage's statement was a dangerous one, promising pain if Mataro was attempting anything along those lines.

"N-no Sarutobi-sama. I believe he should be placed in a Third year Genin team or a two year team at least. His skills are far above a Genin's. I would suggest putting him in the Chuunin Exam as a serious competitor if he wasn't so young." This caused the Hokage's eyes to widen. This man, he realized, did actually see Naruto as _Naruto._

"And why is that Mataro-kun?" The Hokage's tone no longer held any venom. It was instead a more caressing, and questioning, melody.

Mataro picked up the pink folder and handed it to the Hokage. "If you would review his file, I believe you will see why I recommend this placement." The Hokage accepted the folder and began to read over his performance. He was first astonished by the written portion.

_'Chakra sensing isn't discussed in the Academy. That's training begun at Chuunin… How would Naruto know about that? There's no way he could have eavesdropped on those conversations, they're held privately with teams. I'll have to speak with him about it…' _Sarutobi continued on. His pipe nearly falling out of his mouth at the sight of Naruto's weapons scores.

_'A Genin, no, an _Academy Student_¸ scoring a 20/20 on that test is unheard of! Most Genin fail the early test because of that! Even some Chuunin have trouble scoring perfectly… And he was so close to the bull's-eye too…'_ Sarutobi's surprise at the first two tests was nothing when he read about the Jutsu test. This time, his pipe really did fall out of his mouth.

_'He created his own Jutsu? At _ten_? Not only that, but he can effectively explain the Bunshin Chakra construct? It seems I have greatly underestimated you Naruto. Perhaps I should have a talk with you.' _Clearing his throat, and picking up the fallen pipe, the aged Hokage spoke slowly, carefully, and with remorse.

"Unfortunately, no Genin teams are lacking a member at this time. Perhaps after the Chuunin Exam…" Mataro's face became downcast.

"But he's such a promising student Sarutobi-sama! Couldn't we put him on Fourth member rotation till a spot becomes available? A talent like this shouldn't be wasted. Not on waiting four months for the Chuunin Exams…" Sarutobi sighed.

"I agree. But I don't think Fourth member rotation would give a mind like this the attention it deserves to grow. But… perhaps I have another solution." Reaching under his desk, Sarutobi focused chakra into one of many seals on the underside of his desk. This one was marked with the kanji for 'Retrieval.' Nearly instantly four men, or women, their gender was undeterminable, appeared before the desk wearing animal masks and long black cloaks.

"You called for us Hokage-sama?" A low rumbling slightly mechanical voice emanated from the mask. It was then that Mataro realized who these people were. They were the Anbu. The Elite Assassination Force of Konoha. The voice changers implanted in the masks to hide their identities were somewhat of a giveaway.

The Hokage nodded towards the figures. "Raven, Rabbit, Rat, and Robin. I wish for you to retrieve Hatake Kakashi for me. Now." The figures nodded.

"The Anbu live to serve and protect. To retrieve." Raven spoke.

"The Anbu live to serve and protect. To return." Rabbit spoke.

"The Anbu live to serve and protect. To rescue." Rat spoke.

"The Anbu live to serve and protect. To repay." Robin spoke last.

In a singular mechanical rumble they spoke at once. "The Anbu live to serve and protect. Retrieval Anbu, disperse!" At once they all disappeared from the room in a shimmer of black cloaks. Sarutobi just sighed.

"Sarutobi-sama, are they always so…?"

"Eccentric? Yes Mataro-san, they are. Although their names all begin with R, and they are all Retrieval Anbu, they are some of my most highly dedicated and skilled Anbu. I just sometimes wish they were more normal. And then I think of what life would be like if they were. And I let things be." Mataro gave a small chuckle. As he laughed a thud was heard behind him. Turning in his seat, he saw the body of one of Konoha's most skilled shinobi, the Copy-Cat Shinobi, Hatake Kakashi, lying on the floor in a heap. Standing over him were Raven, Rabbit, Rat, and Robin.

"Mission completed Hokage-sama. Permission for open-faced leave?" Sarutobi nodded at Raven's request. The Anbu reached up removing their masks, revealing feminine faces. Kakashi groaned.

"You asked for me Hokage-sama?" Sarutobi nodded, a smile spreading across his face.

"Yes I did Kakashi. What made you so sure?" He looked up with his one eye, giving that familiar eye-smile.

"You only send the R's if you're looking for me." Sarutobi chuckled before motioning with his hand. The Anbu nodded before disappearing once more. "Now, what do you need Hokage-sama?" Sarutobi took a large puff of smoke before speaking.

"I believe you may be able to aid us on this subject we were currently discussing. What do you know of Shinobi Apprenticeships?"

_Naruto's Apartment, After the Genin Exam 17:45_

The door to Naruto's apartment opened with a soft click as he entered the small area. He flipped a switch next to the door causing a pale yellow light emanating from the small bulb to fill the room. Smiling, he slowly made his way to the writing desk in his room. Reaching down he tapped the front of a drawer four times. He opened it slowly and carefully. He reached over to the side and tapping a side, it fell off revealing a small a new side. A seal was drawn on it. Focusing chakra to the seal, a scroll appeared in Naruto's hands. Storage seals were exceedingly simple and having practice them for upwards of twelve years, writing one on the inside of his desk was of no consequence or trial to Naruto.

Unraveling the scroll, he placed it on the desk. Reaching over, he picked up a quill. He unstopped the ink well and dipped the quill in once more. He moved down the scroll a ways, before stopping next to a note. _'Age 10. Failed Genin Exam.' _On the column next to it, he added, _'Passed Genin Exam.' _He looked over the events of his previous life. There weren't very many important ones early on. He realized that it would many more age annotations this time around. Giving a smile at how much better he believed this time around was going to be; Naruto stopped the ink bottle once more, and set the quill aside.

After storing the scroll back in its seal, Naruto laid on the couch, absently running his finger across the headband. He noted how all the nicks and notches he remembered from his old one were missing. It was similar to his life he thought. IN his previous life, he was fulfilling expectations. He was living up to what he expected to be. In this life, he was starting anew. A fresh start. A new headband.

---End---

A/N: Putting out chapters fairly quickly with this one. It's turning out well I think. And a note on why he can't use swords as effectively, think of it this way.

If you have a man who is 6 feet tall, and is holding a 7 ½ foot sword, at a certain angle, at a distance away from his body less than 7 ½ feet, assuming he is holding the sword at an angle, the sword will be a certain distance above the ground. Let's say, 1 foot. Now, if you have a person who is 4 ½ feet tall, wielding the same sword holding it at the same angle, it'll be plowing into the ground. Why? He's a foot and a half shorter, meaning he's already lost 1 ½ feet over its previous height above the ground. As such, he has to adjust how he holds it.

Now to a very experienced sword user they could probably adjust nearly effortlessly. But Naruto has only had a 10 year old body for about a day or so at this time. As such, he doesn't have a grasp of his abilities yet. So, his sword abilities from the previous life will suffer in some respects. Hope that explains it.


	4. My Apprentice?

A Place in Time Chapter 4

Hello and welcome back to the Fourth Chapter of A Place in Time! First off, I'd like to say Wow. Just wow! I never expected such a large turn out for my Time Travel fic! From the reviews, it seems that people desire an author who is original in their timeline and I hope I can do that for you all. I'd like to extend a special thanks to all ofunique reviewers from Chapter 3! There are more, but these are the first seventeen. The rest came in more slowly and it's becoming harder to keep track of them. So from now on, I'm listing the first 10 or 15 people who review the chapter. This chapter has 17. They are, **Holen-Snape, black_hole (), Judgmaster** Who'd I'd like to thank very much for reviewing all three chapters, **Akioofwind, Serenarey Chiba, Bobboky, Anna (), Lena (), Moonlightshade, Shanalir, Sliver Of Time, Madamag, Allison (), gone119, Red Kitsune Flames, **and I'd like to extend an extra large Thank You to someone who took the time to write out three detailed reviews concerning their ideas and my writing style. Thank you, **ALTHIA9.** I will do my best to satisfy you all, my reviewers! And please pardon my past grammar mistakes. Sometimes I mix up tenses when writing and don't fix them, or I come back later and forgot what tense I was using. I'll do my best to correct this. Now, on with the story.

Update: I would like to apologize for the long time I have been away. Due to other obligations and interests I was unable to write Chapter 5. And in response to the displeasure shown at my original rendition of this chapter, I decided to cut out the info on the Sharingan. It will instead be placed in the next "Chapter." Which is just going to be information, and a story about the 12 Chakra Sages. Something short and fun. It'll keep the muse happy and give me time to think about where this is going. Hope you enjoy the extra segment I added on to the end to make up for the Word Count lost by removing the Sharingan Info.

Stealing your time, Eternal Thief~

---Start---

Hatake Kakashi was a shinobi of renown. He was known throughout the Five Great Villages as Sharingan Kakashi, The Copy-Cat Ninja, Kakashi of the Sharingan Eye, the False Uchiha, and many more names. He was known for having copied almost every single jutsu he had ever seen. His implanted Sharingan eye, gained from a fallen comrade in a failed mission in Iwa years ago, allowed him to collects information on any jutsu he saw. He used this to great effect, turning Shinobi's own jutsu against them in a battle. However, besides its obviously powerful effects of copying jutsu and other techniques, the biggest advantage given by a Sharingan eye, was the psychological advantage it offered.

He had worked as an Anbu Captain for years, often administering tests to prospective Genin teams, saying that if they passed he would work as a Jounin Sensei. However, with his recent step-down, a nice way of saying he wasn't fit for Anbu duty anymore, he had inadvertently opened himself up for an Apprenticeship. Something he never really wanted a part of.

Apprenticeships worked much in the same way that Genin teams did, excepting the fact that an Apprenticeship was one person along with their teacher, rather than a team. It was more common among specialists than generalists like Kakashi. Many expected Yuuhi Kurenai to later become a Genjutsu Specialist and to apprentice certain students to her art. Another aspect was that many apprentices were Chuunin or newly ranked Jounin. Genin often didn't have enough experience or developmental growth to be considered for an apprenticeship.

Hatake Kakashi, despite his legendary talents and many accomplishments, had ended up with the newly promoted Genin, Uzumaki Naruto as an apprentice. Many would wonder simply why Naruto was apprenticed to Kakashi of all people. In time, the denizens of Konoha would most likely come to resent the bond and instead favor placing Uchiha Sasuke as Kakashi's apprentice as they both had the Sharingan. But the reason behind the placement was political persuasion and specialization. Sasuke was a Combat Assault Specialist in the making. With his ability to predict movement, once he awakened his Sharingan, and his fire jutsu arsenal, he would be an excellent choice to place on the front lines in a war. On the other hand, Naruto's devious mind and preference for high powered techniques made him perfect for an Assassination Specialist. Many people believed Kakashi to be a Generalist, but his only original jutsu, Chidori and Raikiri, were used for Assassination purposes. Even his summons, the Nin-Dogs, were used for Assassination purposes. As such, Sarutobi had felt it would be best, given Naruto's exceptional scores on the test to place him with Kakashi to be trained as an Assassin.

This is how Kakashi came to be standing in front of the Academy Building. He hadn't been here since he was about six years old. It reminded him too much of his quick ascent through the ranks. Of the war he was forced to endure because of his quick ascent. The war that sent him on a near-suicidal mission into the heart of Iwa. The mission into the heart of Iwa that took one of his teammates from him and drove the other one into the thralls of a hermit. The teammate that gave him his Sharingan eye reminded him of the Iwa shinobi who attacked them. The Iwa shinobi who were comrades of the Iwa shinobi who drove his father to suicide.

It was true that the Academy building drove Kakashi's thoughts down a dark and ravaging pathway. However, he hoped that this time, a new set of memories would extend from the building. Ones along the lines of him experiencing good times with his Apprentice. However, to Kakashi, that outcome wasn't very likely. Instead, his mind was filled with past memories of squads being driven into the mud and dirt their faces streaked by tears and blood, their minds filled with turmoil and depression as the Hatake denounced them as ninja and rejected them from the program. In fact, one of those students had gone on to form a very successful restaurant business. Kakashi often visited the restaurant to speak with the former student and to laugh for a few minutes. Another former student had gone on to be a traveling merchant. He had laughed in the face of danger which caused him to fail as a ninja. On a trip through the dangerous Grass Country he refused to hire a guide and ended up dying from ingesting several poisonous plants. In this collage of memories, Kakashi couldn't remember a single team, or student, who had been up to his standards, and this saddened him. Because for all his showing off and for all his attitude and nonchalance, inside, Kakashi was a wreck. He was alone in the world. And even with his little orange books to shore up his emotional wreckage, he still had an empty hole in his heart.

Kakashi stepped up to the door of the Academy and glanced at the sun in the sky. He was, in fact early. Thinking quickly of the Memorial Stone with Obito's name on it, Kakashi turned to leave. It was his duty to pay homage to his fallen comrades. However, at that moment, a moment from his past flashed through his mind. It was one he had all but forgotten through the years…

_Flashback…_

_A young Kakashi sat on a stump next to his two teammates, Inuzuka Rin and Uchiha Obito. A tall blonde figure known as Namikaze Minato, the future Fourth Hokage stood grinning in front of them. Behind him was a large obsidian stone. It was face was covered in hundreds of tiny names, carved with the exact precision of the Aburame carvers. Minato had called the team's meeting at that particular location for a reason. He had decided it was time that they all got a lesson in humility._

_"Alright, do you any of you guys know what this is behind me?" Rin and Obito's faces were clueless. Only Kakashi seemed to know what it was._

_"It's the Memorial Stone Minato-sensei." Minato smiled and nodded at Kakashi's declaration. He turned his back to them and looked at the large stone._

_"The names of all of Konoha's greatest heroes are carved into this stone. This shinobi are held in the same prestige as every single legendary Shinobi Konoha has ever produced. Their esteem is perhaps, second only to that of the Hokage." At this Obito began to grin._

_"My name will be on that stone one day! I'll be remembered as one of Konoha's heroes!" Minato didn't even turn at his student's declaration._

_"They are remembered this way for being K.I.A. Do you know what that means Obito?" Obito shook his head. He didn't have any idea of what it meant. Without turning Minato spoke again. "It means Killed in Action. Every single name on here is one of a shinobi who was killed in service of Konoha." Rin and Obito's faces were shocked. Kakashi's however stood still and unmoving as ever._

_"Take back what you said now Obito?" Kakashi's voice, although seemingly emotionless, held the barest hints of a mocking tone. At this, Obito's face became stern._

_"No." Even Minato seem surprised at Obito's declaration. "Taking it back would dishonor those who have died. Dying in combat is an honorable death for a Shinobi. I'd rather die fighting than lying in a bed old and helpless. If my name ever graces that stone, then I want it to serve to show people that Konoha shinobi aren't cowards. And I'd want them to remember that I sacrificed what I had to for the village, not that I was dead." Minato smiled at what Obito said._

_"That's quite a declaration for you Obito, and I'm proud of it. You have the true heart of a Konoha Shinobi." Obito grinned as Minato ruffled his hair. Kakashi huffed and turned away. None of them knew that less than half a year later Obito would be lying, barely alive, underneath a rock, and that his name would end up on the stone like he said it would. No one knew that years later, Minato's name would join his on the stone after the sealing of Kyuubi. Because at that moment, they had truly been a team._

_End Flashback_

Kakashi's hand rested on the doorknob to the Academy. He hadn't realized he'd been walking closer to the door in his reverie. As he envisioned two teens come jumping off the steps large grins on their faces, a much younger boy behind them scoffing at their actions, a tall blonde figure laughing at their antics trailing behind them. He shook his head.

_'Have I been wrong this whole time? Was I doing what I should have been…? I'm sorry Obito, I've failed you. But I promise, I'll find some way to make it up to you.' _Kakashi opened the door and walked in, heading for Academy Room 417. He had a promise to keep. Even if he couldn't keep it now, he would when given the chance.

_15 Minutes Earlier, Academy Room 417_

The class of Genin laughed and yelled as they awaited their team placements. Naruto sat by himself in the front row, the singular unmoving and much more diminutive figure amongst the crowd. The teacher, Mataro, stood, proud and cheerful in front of all of them. He held in his hand a single sheet of paper, names of twenty five students and nine teachers printed in neat, military font on it. He began to speak to the class before reading the names.

"Welcome to your last few minutes at the Academy. I know you've all trained hard for this moment and have been waiting years for this chance. I'm proud to stand here today, to watch you as you leave for the life of a Shinobi. Your Hokage and your Village thank you for your sacrifice. We know that many of you have left behind family traditions and businesses to come here, and we thank the Shinobi of Konoha for that. If it was not for you, this new generation, then Konoha would be left standing defenseless in its time of dire need. So please, go with pride, and go without fear, before you lays a great open world, and it is the fruit that is ripe for the picking." With a gentle smile and those kind words, Mataro delivered upon those Jounin the adolescents of the age.

With the team assignments, Mataro had forged friendships and romances, and broken hearts and forced tears to be shed. He had given the Jounin what every commander aspires for, soldiers whose minds are filled with the thoughts of glory, of hope, of heroism, of life. What he had not done, was given them what every commander needs. Soldiers who are versed in blood and death. Soldiers who can cut a swath through enemy lines, the glistening blood raining down on their bodies, the faces of abject terror staring back at them, eyes slowly glazing over in a blank film, their blood slowly cooling into a miasma of flesh and death, all the while, their eyes kept straightforward, never-blinking, their minds untouched by the multitude of death that threatened to engulf them.

No, Mataro had unwittingly driven seven of those Genin to their deaths. Their first C-rank missions, they rushed headlong into the fray, hopes of glory filling their wits, leaving no room for sense. They were cut down in a glint of steel without a second thought. And of the remaining eighteen Genin, he had driven three to suicide. Unable to bear the horrors of true war, they committed suicide on the field, their friends and commanders bearing the grim visages of forced acceptance. And of those remaining fifteen Genin, he drove two of them, Kunoichi, to a fate worse than death. Their minds, and their bodies, were tortured, raped, carnal pleasures to beasts most would not bestow the title of man upon. They would be ravaged in such a manner for hours without end, until their teammates finally reached them amidst the blood and gore. And in the rage, those beasts would be cut down like pigs in a slaughterhouse, their unworthy blood splattering the floundering kunoichi. And in their grief, the teammates would fail to notice that although their tears absolved the bodies of the victims of the horrible torturous things they were put through, their spirits had already departed, destined for something far beyond what the living comprehend, the scars of their lives born upon their broken bodies.

And of the eleven remaining Genin, One would simply falter after the death of one of his teammates while attempting to rescue the third from the vile creatures that tortured her even as she cried out for terrible mercy. And of the remaining ten, nine would go on to become successful shinobi. The tenth was Uzumaki Naruto. One who would go on to live in legend, or so he wished.

Naruto watched as the new Genin left with their sensei. He knew in his heart, many of them he would never see again. And as they slowly drifted away, eventually it was just him and Mataro left in the room. Naruto expected Kakashi would be in soon. He could sense him outside. Mataro sighed and sat down at his desk.

Naruto just patiently waited. About half an hour later the door opened and Hatake Kakashi poked his head in, his single visible eye crinkled upwards in an expression of joy.

"Uzumaki Naruto?" He asked looking in the direction of the only student in the room. Naruto nodded slightly at Kakashi's question. "Good. Now then, I would like you to meet me tomorrow at 0600 hours sharp at Training Grounds 9. And don't be late." With that jovial jaunt of cheer and spring, Kakashi closed the door, giving a nod and a wave to Mataro. Naruto just sighed and stood up stretching. He grinned with relief at the popping of his joints. He had till tomorrow to prepare for whatever it was Kakashi had planned. Perhaps this time, he would receive better training without the Uchiha there to interfere. However, a frown crossed Naruto's face; Kakashi was not restricted to training just him. In his time off he could be training the Uchiha if he wished. He sighed. There wasn't much he could do about it. Kakashi still knew him as an idiot here; perhaps it was time that the Naruto that they perceived finally began to mature…

Giving Mataro a friendly wave Naruto walked out the door of the nearly empty classroom leaving Mataro all to himself in the now student-less Academy. As he walked out the doors, a wind whispered through the Academy. Carried on it was the laughter of a class of twenty-six Academy students, each one only ten years old. As the wind passed by Naruto he felt the slight warmth it held. Taking a deep breath he kept walking.

"I'll be there for you guys this time. It won't happen again." As Naruto spoke of his conviction, an image passed through his mind unwillingly. Its grotesque shape form and bloodied surroundings bringing shivers to his form. The image was one of his friends lying in heaps of organs and bloodied flesh, the red ooze still seeping from their cooling bodies. And standing over their massacred bodies was the image of one man Naruto swore to kill. As the figure stood over the corpses, he began to laugh. A cold chilling laugh that cut to the bone. As he laughed his spinning red eyes bore into Naruto's own bloodied irises.

Naruto's breath was coming in short gasps as he relived that moment. Flashbacks were dangerous to a ninja, and this one was no different. Steeling himself, Naruto kept going, heading for a training ground where he hoped to find a certain man. His body's strength and muscle tone was pitiful, and he felt it was time he began correcting the mistakes of his past life. Nodding his head at his unspoken declaration, Naruto broke into a light jog as he headed towards Training Ground 4. The future training ground of Team 18. Better known as Team Gai.

Hatake Kakashi stood outside two large oaken doors. Inside of the doors was the office of one Sarutobi Sasuke, the Third Hokage of Konoha. Kakashi needed to talk with somebody, and he felt the Sandaime was the one who would fill that role the best.

One of the guards standing next to the door, without turning, spoke to Kakashi. "The Hokage will now grant an audience to you Hatake-san. Please enter." Standing, he nodded. Opening the doors he slowly entered. Behind a large desk sat the old Hokage. He looked up as Kakashi entered, small wisps of smoke rising from his pipe.

"Ah, Kakashi. What brings you here today?" A rare smile graced his face as he stood, stacks of piper slightly obscuring his form. Kakashi walked over smiling, and bowed to the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama, I wish to speak to you about matters concerning my new…" He paused for a moment, seemingly at a loss for words. "… Apprentice." The Sandaime nodded. He had expected this. He walked towards the door motioning for Kakashi to follow him.

"Come Kakashi. I believe you and I have much to discuss, and this empty office is not the best place to speak of such matters." As he spoke he left the office Kakashi following after him.

In a small dark room, beneath a maze of tunnels and dark things, a man with a single eye, and a single arm, swore as the seal inscribed on his wall dulled in color, returning to black from his previous bright red. In addition, a miniscule seal, inscribed near invisibly on the inside of the Hokage's desk also dimmed in color, the sound in the underground room, still echoing with the words of the Hokage…

The Hokage slowly breathed in the tobacco laced smoke, allowing it to fill his lungs with its pleasant addicting taste, letting it permeate his body. Letting out the smoke-laced breath, he turned his head towards Kakashi as they walked down the village streets.

"Now Kakashi, what questions concerning Naruto do you have?" Kakashi looked at the Hokage for a moment before speaking.

"Why me sir? Why was I chosen to be the Uzumaki's Master? Wouldn't someone like Anko be a better choice? She's more of an Assassination Battle cross than I am!" At this the Hokage held up his hand.

"You misunderstand his position Kakashi. Naruto is not going into form of Generalization at this time. He is training to be a full-time Assassin. Later, I will consider him for a front-line fighter, but for now, he will be trained as an assassin, under your tutelage." Kakashi nodded, his face still holding traces of doubt.

"Why make him an Assassin though? He doesn't seem to be one for the quiet and discretion assassination requires. He has an incredibly large chakra capacity too, which also makes for a front-line fighter." The Hokage nodded. He had encountered this resistance before.

"His chakra capacity is one of the reasons he is perfect for assassination. Many assassination jutsu require a large chakra capacity as they are intended for an instant kill. Then, if the assassins are caught, they are nearly defenseless as most assassins lack chakra capacity. Naruto on the other hand has an unnaturally large amount of chakra. Besides, have you seen the boy's Henge?"

The Henge was a fairly basic ninja technique, alongside the Kawarimi and Bunshin jutsu, was taught at the Academy. The Henge worked by expelling a visible "wall" of chakra. This chakra was molded to shapes and colors and projected an image. Most Henges were of someone the same size, or of a larger size than the user of the jutsu. An Advanced Henge involved transforming into something small than yourself. This was because you had to create a bubble of chakra that deflected light _around _yourself causing you to disappear, while still allowing a small portion to reflect the image you wished to create.

Kakashi shook his head. He didn't see how a Henge could be anything special. "No sir I haven't. I understand that it can be held for a long period of time?" The Hokage just smiled knowingly.

"Not exactly Kakashi. His Henge actually forms a solid being." The Hokage's words were spoke like they were typical every day conversation.

Now, many people would wonder exactly why a solid Henge was such a big accomplishment. After all, ninja could make solid clones of themselves, why was a solid Henge such a strange thing? The thing about clones was they were an exact copy formed out of solid or near solid chakra construction. They were often formed by the use of a medium as a chakra conductor, such as water, earth, leaves or like the fabled Inazuma (Lightning) Bunshin, electricity. A Henge seemed to be basically the same principle only with focusing the chakra in a new form.

This is exactly what made solid Henges nearly impossible. Normal Henges consisted of the chakra pushed outwards, or simply flowing around a person. But a solid Henge required that the chakra form itself into a solid form of just a mental image. The chakra actually had to become real flesh and blood. A solid Henge, if cut, would bleed. However, forcing chakra outside of your body, while drawing in enough Natural Chakra to cause it to become a real being was something special.

Kakashi's eye widened at the mention of that. A solid Henge was not unheard of, but it was considered nearly impossible to learn, even harder to perform, and beyond impossible to recreate after the first Shinobi, one of the Twelve Chakra Sages, who ever created it. And here, a boy only ten years old, had recreated a technique created by one of the Twelve founding Shinobi.

"You... you're serious?" The Hokage nodded. Kakashi just shook his head and started counting the Gods he had to thank for giving him such an incredibly promising student.

"Now Kakashi, before I actually let you go to teach the boy, seeing as how you're very excited by that prospect, I would like to discuss your use of Chidori and Raikiri as Assassination techniques, and your possible thoughts of teaching them to Naruto…" Kakashi nodded as the Hokage began to speak.

In the shadows of a nearby food stall, a man quietly enjoying his Onigiri was taking notice of every word that he could. However, he heard no mention of the Kyuubi, and he couldn't quite catch the name as it was spoken in hushed tones. However, the mention of an incredibly powerful technique recreated by a young boy was an interesting prospect. He finished his Onigiri and green tea before politely excusing himself. As he left the stall, a slight wind ruffled his sleeve, allowing one to catch the barest glimpse of a large tree tattooed on his left bicep, its roots extending along his muscles…

---Break---

Maito Gai was renowned far and wide as a true master of Taijutsu. Although he could use chakra, he rarely utilized it, instead favoring to use hand to hand techniques. His body was toned to a point of near perfection. It was said his strength could almost rival Tsunade's monstrous strength. If Gai's control were placed on the same level, his punches would be the most devastating in the world. However, years of strict physical training had diminished Gai's chakra control, and as he had begun focusing on physical strength at a rather young age, he had neglected to grow his chakra capacity during the years in which he would have the highest level of growth.

Although he utilized very few chakra techniques that was not to mean Gai was not proficient in the ones he did use. On the contrary, Gai had the few techniques that he did use down to a near art form. It was said, even with his miniscule, in comparison, chakra capacity, Gai could summon the Boss of any Summon Contract with chakra left to spare. This was not simply due to control, Gai had altered the technique in such a way that enabled him to perform such amazing feats. No one quite understood how Gai did it, but then again, no one understood the Summoning Technique either. No one understood Gai for that matter either.

Gai was also one of the Jounin who were lucky enough to have taken Genin Teams under their wings. Gai's teams was Team 18. It consisted of Rock Lee, Higarashi Tenten, and Hyuuga Neji.

Rock Lee was nearly a carbon copy of Gai. He wore the same green spandex training suit, and had the same black, bowl-cut hair, and the same disturbingly sized eyebrows. He was unable to use chakra due to a defect in his chakra in his chakra system. The defect cause his system to systematically eradicate any of the small amounts of excess chakra that he produced. This lead Lee to become a Taijutsu Specialist, much like his Sensei.

Higarashi Tenten was the second student of Maito Gai. Tenten helped in running the 'Higarashi Weapons' store, located in the Market District. The main head of the store was her father, a retired Tokubetsu Jounin, Higarashi Mouti. Tenten specialized in the use of weaponry, both long and short range. She was also one of the few Shinobi who could use some of the more exotic and foreign weapons to at a least a small degree of proficiency. These ranged from sickles, to knives, to scythes, to maces, to Ball-and-chains, to clubs, to many other manners of weapons. However, Tenten's weapons proficiency had cost her in her other skills. She knew very few Ninjutsu, and knew almost no Genjutsu. Her Taijutsu was very weak, relying almost solely on weaponry. However, the techniques that Tenten did know were used to devastating effect. She had also mastered, to a small degree, a few Fuinjutsu; mainly the storage and transportation seals.

The last student of Maito Gai, was Hyuuga Neji. Neji was the son of Hizashi, the twin brother of Hiashi, the Head of the Hyuuga Clan. Neji was a member of the Branch House of the Hyuuga Clan. As his father's life was sacrificed under extenuating circumstances that Neji was not privy to, he had come to blame his misfortune on the Main House, and his Cousin, Hinata. Neji was a genius of the Hyuuga style, the Jyuuken. Although he had great skill concerning his Taijutsu, and his bloodline, the Byakugan, he was hardly proficient in any Ninjutsu, or Genjutsu.

Maito Gai was chosen as their sensei as he could draw out Tenten's and Neji's Taijutsu abilities, while aiding Lee. However, they were neglected in other fields. Gai had been thinking of ways to help them overcome this disadvantage. The only solution he could think of was to ask his Eternal Rival, Hatake Kakashi for assistance regarding Jutsu training. However, Gai's pride and 'Flames of Youth' would not allow him to do such a thing. Gai had been sitting on a tree stump pondering this question while his students sparred in another area of the Training Ground.

It was this sight that Naruto encountered as he approached Gai's Team. Gai sitting on a stump, while his students sparred. Naruto did a double-take as he noticed Gai's team sparring. They shouldn't have graduated from the Academy for another year… He walked up to Gai, his students still in his mind, and stood in front of him, waiting for Gai to notice him. However, after a few moments, it appeared that Gai was going to do no such thing as he was absorbed too deeply in his own thoughts. Naruto broke the silence with a simple request.

"Excuse me Maito-san, but may I have a moment of your time?" No sooner had Naruto finished his question, than Gai looked up, a spark in his eye. Without even glancing towards Naruto, he flung his arms skyward, catching Naruto under the jaw with a fist, sending him spiraling.

"Yosh! I have it! I will ask the Hokage to teach my students Ninjutsu! Although Sandaime-sama is not as young as he once was, his Flames of Youth still burn brightly!" Suddenly realizing something he drooped. "But the Sandaime is a very busy man. He will not have the time. Oh well, back to the drawing board!"

During his outburst, Gai had caught the attention of his students, but that was soon distracted by the small child sailing through the air. Lee had been in the process of initiating a Konoha Senpuu aimed towards Neji at the time. However, Gai's outburst caused him to change his course, and he had already committed to completing the move. As such, he couldn't stop it. His distraction caused his kick to instead collide with the head of Uzumaki Naruto.

Naruto's vision began to fade away. The last thing he saw was the image of Lee and Tenten running towards him. The last words he heard were, "Oh no! Gai-sensei forgive me! In my unyouthfulness I have killed a young child!" Lee burst in great heaving sobs as he kneeled by Naruto's body. Naruto had one last thought before he passed out.

_'Maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all…'_

---End---

A/N: This is the first time I've actually stated Kakashi as being Naruto's Master although I didn't come right out and say it, most of you figured out beforehand I'm sure. Also, the first appearance of Danzo and his ROOT Shinobi. I'm considering doing a short History Scope Chapter explaining the Twelve Chakra Sages. I would also include the History of Demons and the Sharingan or leave that for another History Scope. Just drop a review and let me know what you think.

Concerning Gai's Team having graduated already, I have plans for that. This is a slightly different universe than Canon, as I have already shown, and one of those differences is a slightly larger age gap between the Teams. It's only two years, which in the scope of age is actually quite small. At their age however, it will have a large effect on the dynamic between the Rookies and Gai's Team.

As always ideas are always appreciated as is Constructive Criticism. I love reviews, but I won't hesitate to remove Reviews I find simply flame my story for no reason. If you dislike my story, please say so in a constructive way. Saying, "Your story is a complete and total fuck-up and you should delete it now." Is something I would delete. However, I always look forward to positive reviews! So please, leave a review! They're what encourage me to keep writing!


	5. Training, IchaIcha, and Blood

A Place In Time Chapter 5

The 'Extra Info' Chapter has been delayed. I'm currently very busy and have been for a long time. I'm also dealing with some personal issues right now, that will take time to sort through.

I'm also going to developing Naruto's personality a bit more in this story. He has the mind of a 26 year old, while in the body of a 10 year old. Now, although he is mentally 26 he still reacts somewhat like a 10 year old. This is because in this universe he is technically 10 years old, and his 26 year old mind can't completely overwhelm the 10 year old part of his mind. This isn't to say he's an idiot. But he sometimes acts slightly less mature then he should.

Anyways, hope you enjoy reading chapter 5 of A Place in Time.

---Begin---

A dark empty stone cavern stood nearly empty. A large seal on the wall glowed brightly as voices drifted throughout the cavern. A man sat behind a large desk, listening to the voices. The man has a bandage that encircled his head, covering his right eye. He was also missing his right arm, and carried a cane. Dark greasy hair drifted lazily in front of his face, his single visible eye seemingly drooping along with the rest of his pale and waxy skin. On the desk was the image of a large tree, its roots extending along its lengths and down the sides. The man's name was Danzo.

Danzo was a member of Konoha's Shinobi Council. He was the antithesis to the Third Hokage. He wished for war and chaos and blood and death, whereas the Third Hokage preferred to vie for peace and prosperity. Danzo had also headed the Konoha Black Ops Division known as ROOT. ROOT had been officially disbanded after the Second Great War under the rule of the Nidaime Hokage. ROOT's original purpose had been deep infiltration and suicide missions. Because of the emotional training they received, ROOT operatives would never crack under torture or lose sight of their objective. Their participation in the Second Great War turned the tides for Konoha. However, the Nidaime had seen the methods as inhumane, and disbanded the group.

Danzo however, had other ideas. ROOT had simply gone underground, quite literally, and continued to operate, their allegiance now being owed to Danzo rather than to the Hokage. Danzo had long opposed the Sandaime, and sought to seize power for himself. His espionage tactics were underhanded and ruthless. He kept himself well informed. On the inside of Sarutobi's desk, a miniscule seal had been carved. This was a Sound-Transfer seal. It took in any sound from the Hokage's office, and played it back through the much larger seal in Danzo's office. The larger seal acted as an amplifier, allowing the barely heard sounds, to be fully comprehended.

As Danzo listened to the usual mission reports, the door to his office opened. Barely even turning his head to regard the man standing in the doorway, he spoke. "What do you have to report?" His voice was low and meaningful. No syllable was wasted. It was also greasy and snake like, slipping and spilling from his mouth, like a dribble of vomit and drool. Despite his mannerisms of speaking, he managed to instill fear, as his words caressed you, lulled you into security, promised you sugars and sweets, and a nice place to sleep, before its fangs sunk into your neck.

The man made no movement even after being on the receiving end of Danzo's greased words. "I was positioned at a small Onigiri stand, just as you ordered Danzo-sama. As I ate, the Sandaime passed by along with Hatake Kakashi." Danzo nodded. Sarutobi speaking to a shinobi wasn't uncommon, but outside his office it was. "He mentioned an apprentice of Kakashi's. And his techniques, the Raikiri and the Chidori. He mentioned assassination and a name. I apologize but I was unable to hear the name that he used." Danzo nodded. He waved his single arm dismissing the ninja who turned and left, the image of a tree visible on his left arm.

Danzo leaned back in his chair, speaking lowly to himself. "Kakashi taking an apprentice? That is… an unexpected turn of events. However, this shouldn't be too much of an issue. As long as…" Before the name was spoken, Danzo noticed the man from before standing once more in the doorway, bowing. "What is it this time?" Danzo was becoming slightly annoyed at this constant interruption.

"I apologize Danzo-sama. But I neglected to mention an important piece of information. The boy, who will become Kakashi's apprentice, was mentioned having used a Henge." Danzo just gave a disinterested stare.

"Why should I care? Any student strong enough to become an Apprentice is able to perform a Henge." The man stayed bowing.

"I apologize for not being more specific. He used a _solid _Henge. A technique from what I heard, has not been seen since the days of the 12 Chakra Sages." At that Danzo's eye widened. His previous thoughts of killing the forgetful operative had fled his mind.

"Are you sure that they said it was a technique from the Twelve Chakra Sages?" The man nodded. Danzo waved his arm dismissing the man, talking to himself. "The Twelve Chakra Sages… Masters of Mind and Body and Teachers of the Six Paths Sage… For one to re-create one of their techniques, they would have to be… No. It's impossible. That particular trait died out hundreds of years ago. Orochimaru's experiments couldn't even get it to work…" Danzo was left to his rambling as he reached out a hand and withdrew chakra from the seal on the wall, diminishing its glow, and reducing its glow. He would never realize it, but this caused him to miss out on the name of the person whom he was thinking about at that very moment.

---Break---

In the Sandaime's Office the old Sarutobi looked at Kakashi before taking a long drag on his pipe, slowly exhaling, the smoke puffing out in lilting lazy rings. Kakashi made no motion of any sort, his body in his standard lackadaisical slouch, his single visible eye lightly drooping downwards. Sarutobi cleared his throat before speaking.

"Now, I'm sure you're wondering why I mentioned the Raikiri and Chidori?" Kakashi only offered only a nod as his reply. "Well, I do not want you teaching Naruto the Chidori OR the Raikiri." At this Kakashi's visible eye widened.

"What? But, why not Hokage-sama? Even though Naruto doesn't have the Sharingan, he has more than enough chakra, and his use of Kage Bunshins as shields and scouts makes up for his lack of the Sharingan!" Sarutobi lightly pulled on his pipe, staying calm.

"Simply put Kakashi, the Raikiri and Chidori are not Assassination techniques. I have long contested you categorizing them as such." Kakashi nodded. The Sandaime had never agreed with him calling the two techniques assassination techniques.

"And why not Hokage-sama? They are intended to act as a one-hit kill move. Their power and speed surely classifies them as assassination jutsu." The Sandaime just shook his head. Kakashi, as a prodigy had never wanted to admit that he was wrong, and would do everything in his power possible to prove that he was indeed right.

"Tell me Kakashi. Your technique is named Chidori, One Thousand Birds, due to the massive chirping sound it makes, no?" Kakashi nodded. It was a well known fact that concentrated lightning chakra that had yet to be molded, such as the Chidori, fired off miniature lightning bolts, that when they struck particles in the air, created a sound similar to that of a lightning bolt striking the ground, only much smaller. "Then if it makes such a distinctive, loud and recognizable sound, why is it classified as an assassination. Anyone who heard the noise would instantly know what it was, not to mention its volume."

Kakashi nodded under the Sandaime's evidence. He had never truly considered the implications of using the jutsu, just the effects that it caused. "Are you Hokage-sama? Perhaps he could use them under other situations?" The Sandaime chewed on the end of his pipe for a moment.

"I wish for you to teach him the theory and applications behind the Raikiri. I believe Naruto could learn greatly from the usage of elemental manipulation. I also wish for you to work with him on his elemental alignments. I have a suspicion that he is primarily a Wind alignment, but he may have a budding Water alignment. Considering his heritage they do not surprise me." Kakashi nodded.

"And you hope to add Lightning to his elemental repertoire before he becomes old enough that it completely solidifies?" The Sandaime nodded.

"He should be old enough that none of his other alignments shouldn't be affected by more training." Kakashi agreed. Naruto was at a delicate stage where in his development where he could add more elemental alignments if he practiced them enough, but they wouldn't overwhelm his natural alignments. What neither of the two knew was Naruto had indeed been a natural Wind and Water alignment in his previous 'Life.' Nor did they understand that the Kyuubi had been a Fire and Earth alignment, and being sealed inside of Naruto passed that trait on. The two were in for quite the surprise when Kakashi began developing Naruto's Lightning affinity.

What no one knew, not even Naruto, was that with elemental alignment of the Five Primary Elements, special abilities were unlocked. The Kyuubi knew of the main one, but had always neglected to inform Naruto of the fact that it existed as he never developed a Lightning affinity. That ability was simply known as Elemental Combination.

And through all of this, Danzo missed the name used, and the major facts discussed. However, a ROOT operative in Anbu who was stationed outside of the Hokage's office heard some of the conversation. However, he once again missed the name that was used, and only learned of his, hopeful, third alignment. He had to wait several hours before he would be able to deliver the information to Danzo, and in that time, he would be focused ion remembering the specific details. Wind Water and Lightning were a deadly combination after all.

---Break---

Naruto's head was throbbing. He could feel a massive migraine coming on, and the Kyuubi's chakra wasn't making much of a dent in it just yet. He gritted his teeth as his ears were assaulted by loud yelling.

"Yosh! Gai-sensei! It seems I was wrong! I have not killed a small child! His YOUTH was so powerful it deflected the brunt of the force! He is truly a formidable boy!" The boy was ranting and just wouldn't be quiet. Naruto, doing the one thing he could think of at the time to shut him up, aimed his foot at the source of the voice, and swung his leg in an arc.

Now, Naruto's aim was fairly accurate. However, he had forgotten that his legs were now shorter. So, instead of reaching the desired height and impacting the source of the voice, he instead hit something, or more correctly, someone else.

"Child-san! It is most UN-youthful to kick Neji-san in the face! I must inquire as to why you would perform such an action knowing how un-youthful it was!" Naruto's mind instantly kicked into overdrive.

_'Neji? But… but Neji's dead! I saw him die…' _An image flashed before Naruto's eyes, blocking out whatever pain he was feeling and whatever he was seeing. Instead, the image filled his mind.

_A burning field filled with hundreds of bodies. The stench of burnt flesh and hair permeated the very atmosphere, burning his lungs with every sickening breath. A figure stood in front of him. It opened its mouth and laughed. Another figure lunged at it. He was hitting him again and again, but the sickening laughter continued. It filled his ears with ringing, and his throat and his nose burned with the acrid smoke filling the field. The figure raised a blade of some sort, and brought it down upon the other figure. He licked the blade afterwards. He slowly tapped it against his neck once or twice testing the fallen figure's reaction. Shrugging the maniacal laughter started once more. He swung the blade. Again. Again. And Again. The blood flew into the air, barely visible amongst the smoke and burning skies. The figure turned towards him. It licked his lips as it approached him._

_He opened his mouth, to cry, to yell, to speak, but nothing came. The figure stood above him now. It bent down and his cracked bleeding lips began to move as the figure spoke to him._

_"The Hyuuga wasn't much of a challenge… perhaps you will be?" As he started to laugh, blood spitting from his mouth, landing on his face, a large glowing blue blade appeared in his chest. Turning around, standing behind him, his arm extended, was Hyuuga Neji._

_"The Ultimate Jyuuken Strike. Sword of the Tenketsu." The figure choked and coughed and collapsed on the blade, motionless and lifeless. Neji gave a small smile and he began to slightly relax. He tried to yell out to Neji as the figure's eyes opened once more, but his voice still wouldn't work. The blade swung once more, and Neji was left clasping his hand to his neck as the blood slowly pooled around him. He shuddered and gasped for a few second, but eventually fell still. A few seconds passed while the man smirked while examining the whole in his chest. Suddenly, a load roar filled the field. He looked up, and his eyes widened in fear. It was the first time in many years they had, and it was the last time, they ever would._

"Hold him down! HOLD HIM DOWN! Neji! Keep your hands on his head! Tenten! Don't let go of his arm just yet! He seems to be calming down… Excuse me, are you alright?"

Naruto opened his eyes gasping for air, sweat beading his forehead, eyes darting every which way as he slowly realized where he was.

"Wha? Gai-san? What, what happened?" Gai stood up from his position kneeling next to him, motioning for Neji to let go of his head.

"You began to convulse and seize. We don't know what happened exactly. We feared Lee's kick to your head may have destroyed your youthfulness! But, when you awoke, we were overjoyed and filled with your overflowing YOUTH to know that you were fine! But then you kicked Neji in the head, which Lee remarked was QUITE un-youthful! Then, you froze for a moment, then you began to spasm! We held you down in an effort to lessen your self injury!"

Naruto blinked as he listened. Lee's kick had disoriented him. He had forgotten his… situation. Neji was alive and well here. And unfortunately, he was still probably a huge ass. Naruto suddenly started laughing. He laughed because he imagined Neji's face on a fat mule. Naruto's laughter spread throughout the group, as he was followed closely by Lee and Gai. Tenten couldn't but start laughing while Neji crossed his arms and turned his nose up at them.

It would have looked better if he didn't have a large black and blue mark forming on his chin. As it was now, well. It looked like the Hyuuga was growing a very splotchy colored beard. The image just made Naruto laugh more. Neji didn't know what he was laughing at, but he couldn't help but start laughing, however slightly, to himself.

After Team Gai and Naruto had calmed down from their laughing fit, or in Neji's case, chuckles, Gai decided to find out exactly what had happened to cause Naruto to enter their training field and to seemingly attack Neji.

"Excuse me, but what is your purpose here? It is not often that a young Ninja-Trainee wanders into a Shinobi Training Field!" Naruto was irked that Gai thought he was only a Trainee. He was wearing the official Konoha Headband after all.

"I am not a Trainee! I'm a fully-trained fully fledged Genin tier Shinobi of Konohagakure." Gai looked at him for a moment before laughing.

"You are much too young to be a Shinobi! You look only 10, and will not graduate the Academy for another Two years! Although you are bursting with Youth, even my team, the most youthful of all! Has only just become a Genin Team." His team nodded. This had been their first team meeting.

"I look Ten, because I am ten." They all looked at him and blinked. "I successfully completed the criteria for Early Graduation." Gai looked at him before beaming a huge smile while forming the 'Good Guy' pose.

"YOSH! I can see your Youth knows no bounds! Now, who are your youthful teammates?" Naruto unwittingly took a slight step backwards. He never remembered this side of Gai, he chose the more serious, while still kind-hearted version, who would not come around until the War.

"Actually, I don't have any teammates. I was placed under Hatake Kakashi as his Apprentice." Gai paused, and blinked for a moment.

"My eternal rival Kakashi has taken on an Apprentice who graduated early from the academy?" Naruto nodded slowly, trying not to draw attention to himself. "You must be entirely consumed by the Flames of Youth to have graduated so early! Now, what is it that your youthful spirit yearns for?" Gai gave the "Good-Guy" Pose, his arm extended giving a thumbs up and a bright smile. His teeth gave off a 'ping' of light. Naruto just shook it off with a shiver.

"I came to see if perhaps you could help me with physical conditioning. I am currently in a fairly poor physical state, and it is important for a shinobi to be good physical and mental condition." Naruto had long doubted his mental condition because of all the things he had endured. A flash of a corpse flew through his mind unwillingly. This one was clad in a green spandex outfit. Its limbs were gone, each one in no fewer than three pieces laying around it. Its jaw was removed, the tongue hanging limply on top of the blood soaked throat, the jaw embedded into its stomach. Its face was burning, the flesh blackening and curling, the smell permeating the air.

Naruto shook his head to rid himself of the image of Gai's corpse. Gai was in front of him now, alive and well. He knew he had to give up those memories, to some degree, or they would continue to haunt him, but he didn't want to surrender completely to his younger mind. Finally deciding he would think about it later he turned back to Gai.

"Why would you come asking another teacher for help? Surely you can ask Kakashi for help regarding your physical health. Besides, is it not against policy to ask another teacher for help? And wouldn't my training take up too much time that could be better devoted to Kakashi's training?" Naruto nodded. Gai had made several good points.

"Because Gai-san, Kakashi's specialty is Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. He is not much of a physical specialist at all. Also, Kakashi is officially listed as my Mentor, not my Jounin Teacher. Besides, Kakashi is three hours late to any appointment that isn't urgent. I could use those three hours to attend to any physical regiment you may decide to prepare for me Gai-san." Gai nodded.

"It is decided then! I will devise a training schedule for you! You will also be an excellent sparring partner for my youthful students! With work, you could become as good at Taijutsu as Lee!" At this comment, Lee jumped up yelling his sensei's name. Gai cheered Lee's name back. This continued several times before they began to hug and the image of a sunset seemed to appear behind them. Naruto rubbed his eyes and it faded away, but he could of sworn it was real.

Naruto backed away from the two Taijutsu enthusiasts. He didn't want to be hanging around them while they were acting this way. He kept walking backwards until he was out of the Training Ground. Neji and Tenten were both shaking their heads at their teammates' actions. They weren't at all surprised that Naruto had left very few people could handle their teammates.

---Break---

Kakashi stood inside of a book store. In front of him was a large book shelf. It was orange and color was covered in the words "Icha-Icha!" All the books were wrapped in a black plastic cover. The covering had white words naming each book. Kakashi carefully selected one. He pulled it off the shelf with the utmost care. He slid his hands over the covering, hearing the crackle he smiled. He selected another from the shelf and felt it in his hand. Giving a slight frown he shook his head and placed it back on the shelf. He reached for a second one before pausing. He frowned deeply and shook his head. He reached for another one and when his hand touched it he grinned. He quickly pulled it off the shelf and turned to leave. He paused when he saw who was standing there.

Kakashi's old teammate, Inuzuka Rin was standing with her arms crossed as Kakashi selected his literature. He took on a look of surprise when he noticed Rin.

"Oh, hello Rin! I didn't expect to see you here. What's new?" Kakashi smiled at her. Rin couldn't help but chuckle and smile back.

"Not much Kakashi. I see you still make your selections with the utmost care. Any particular reason this time?" Kakashi nodded.

"They've released several Icha-Icha versions with illustrations by the author. I had to make sure the ones I chose contained those extra illustrations." Rin raised an eyebrow at his explanation.

"And how do you determine which of these contain the illustrations?" Kakashi just smiled.

"Simple. I've memorized the weight of every single Icha-Icha volume to be released to date. So, I've taught myself to weigh any item I'm holding in order to determine if it contains any additional pages or ink markings." Kakashi smiled again while Rin just sighed.

Rin reached behind Kakashi, glanced at the shelf for a moment before pulling off two of the books. Kakashi glanced at the covers for a moment.

"Hmm. Volumes 37 and 38. Those were quite good." Rin just smiled.

"I've fallen behind and have to catch up. They don't stock Icha-Icha books in Kusa so I was unable to pick them up." Kakashi nodded. Rin had been undercover for about seven months now, and had just been recalled.

"Wait till you reach Volume 41." Kakashi giggled and blushed as he thought of the book. Rin just shook her head.

"You're way too addicted to these books Kakashi. I agree, they are very well structured, and their characters are amazingly life-like, but the sex scenes are amazingly improbable!" Kakashi waggled his eyebrows at Rin.

"Do you want to test that theory?" Rin just laughed and punched Kakashi's shoulder.

"Kakashi, how many times do I have to tell you, I'm not interested in you like that." Kakashi nodded. He was never really serious about chasing after Rin. Obito had been, and for a time, Kakashi was too. But over time, he had drifted away from serious romance. His constant reading of his Icha-Icha books was a way for him to escape from the reality of the romance.

The truth was Kakashi was afraid of most serious commitment. That was why he failed any team that he was previously assigned. His stint in Anbu was his way of distancing himself from real people. But now, he had an Apprentice who he didn't really have a choice to fail or not. Kakashi shook his head. He didn't know if he could handle that responsibility or not…

"Kakashi. Kakashi! Are you listening to me?" Kakashi snapped out of his reverie and looked over at Rin. "You were ignoring me." Kakashi just scratched the back of his head nervously.

"I was thinking about some things." Rin nodded and Kakashi gave a relieved sigh.

"As I was saying, what's this that I've heard of you taking on an apprentice?" Kakashi looked at Rin. Was it really traveling around that fast?

"The Hokage wants me to take an Apprentice and train him to be an Assassination Specialist. He also doesn't want me teaching him the Chidori or Raikiri." Kakashi seemed disappointed that he wouldn't be able to pass on his personal techniques.

"At least someone finally told you those techniques of yours are absolutely terrible for assassination! The boy wouldn't be able to use them anyways. You need the Sharingan for them to work properly." Kakashi nodded weakly. He had known that it required the Sharingan. He had hoped that he would be able to pass the technique on to his children.

The little known truth was, that after Rin, Kakashi had fallen in love once more. Her name was Uchiha Tsukiakari (Moonlight). She had been the love of Kakashi's life, and he had been planning to drop out of Anbu, and become a regular Jounin to marry her. It was a week after he left Anbu, when the entirety of the Uchiha Clan, save Sasuke, was brutally murdered. Kakashi had never even had the chance to say goodbye. The ring he had planned to give to her still stood in a small velvet box atop a shelf in his home. A silent reminder of what was taken from him.

"So. Who's the unlucky little bastard who'll get you as a teacher?" Kakashi didn't even chuckle at Rin's attempt at humor.

"His name is Uzumaki Naruto." Rin stiffened slightly at the name.

"The Kyuubi Child?" Kakashi gave Rin a stern look.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. Because you know, under the Third's Decree, if I did hear a statement like that, I would be obligated as a Konoha Shinobi to kill you." Rin just slapped Kakashi's shoulder as she proceeded to the cash register and paid for her books. Kakashi followed behind her likewise.

"Oh lay off it Kakashi. There aren't any Anbu members around, neither is the kid. Anyone here already knows what happened that October Tenth. It isn't like the Third actually enforces that silly little decree. But really, the Kyu- oh, excuse me, 'Uzumaki' brat? He isn't anything special. I've seen him before. If he amounts to anything it won't actually be on his own merit. Kid's too dense for anything other than a stand owner." Kakashi was gaping behind his mask. He hadn't known Rin to be such a cold and uncaring person… He shook his head.

"Yes. He showed considerable skill during his Genin Test. He actually managed to graduate two full years early. He'll go far. He's built for Assassination." Rin just waved her hand at him.

"Sure sure. Whatever you say 'Kashi. I got to go. I'll speak with you later." Kakashi nodded as Rin waved goodbye and walked away from the bookstore. If Kakashi had been paying attention, he may have noticed the wind ruffle Rin's sleeve just enough to catch a glimpse of a tree tattooed onto Rin's arm.

---Break---

Rin walked down the streets barely paying attention to the things around her. Her smile and cheerful attitude were gone. In their place was a face of cold hard determination. She entered the Red-Light District of Konoha. A slummy sleazy part of town tucked into the darkest dankest corners of the city. Large Neon signs flashed dizzying words and images. Women coaxed in men from the doorways. Rin almost sneered at the number of people that were here in the middle of the day.

She walked through the neon maze of brick and mortar the blinding flashes sparking everywhere. Screams and shrieks echoed across the dark blood-stained streets as more flowed into the gutters, an arm fell limp and was dragged into the darkness of an alleyway. A woman escorted a man to his hotel room, undoing his tie. He would awake to find to his money and valuable possessions missing. He would scream in mental anguish before heading back to the District to hunt down the seductress. On his way in, he would be snagged and pulled into an alleyway. A meal for some back-alley slum walker who could tell you by the thickness of the grease and blood on a diner floor which diner it was.

Rin walked by a diner, red slowly seeping under its doorway. It opened to reveal a large man carrying a dark mop pushing the blood out into the street. If you asked, it was pig's blood from the butcher shop in the back that had a clogged drain. But anyone who was poor enough, or greasy enough, or enough of a back alley trader to have eaten there would tell you it was too tough and too stringy to be pork.

People disappeared in the Red light district every day. It was Konoha's disgusting secret. Every village had a place similar, but only Konoha's had grown so large and fat that it was beyond the grasp of the law. As she walked, a hand lurched from behind a wall attempting to grab Rin. A flash of light later and it withdrew with a shriek of hand, the first joint of its fingers laying on the ground.

Rin approached a particularly sleazy diner and opened the door. Inside stood a thin wiry man wiping his hands on a browned cloth. His teeth were rotted and yellow, and his hair wiry and gray. His smock was spattered with blood and dirt. He glanced at Rin.

"I suppose you'll be taking the special again?" She merely nodded. "Alrighty then. Bark Rot Soup comin' right up." He ducked behind the counter grumbling about not being able to find a bowl. "Be a dear and go in the back and fetch a clean pot will ya'? I'm fresh out up here." Rin nodded once more walking through the swinging door that led to the kitchen.

Once inside she walked over to the wall that held the shelf that held the pots. Pulling one off the wall turned with a groan to reveal a dark passageway. Rin entered and replaced the pot through a piece of wall that could be removed. The wall swung back and melded seamlessly into the grease-pit.

It was Konoha's best kept secret. Their disgusting blood-works. Their prostitute rings and murder shops. Their Red-Light District. The place where the ROOT Anbu Headquarters was located.

---End---

Finally! It is FINALLY finished! I realize this is LONG overdue. I've been horrendously busy. The last scene really got those creative juices flowing. Who would've thought Konoha had a disgusting Red-Light district more akin to a death shop than a district? And who would've guessed ROOT based itself there?

Well, it's another chapter finished. Chapter 6 coming whenever.


	6. Welcome Back, Kyuubi?

A Place in Time Chapter 6

A/N: I apologize for being gone so long. I've had a LOT to do. I'm currently a Junior in High School and things get pretty hectic. I've just recently been able to come back to FanFiction. I'm postponing (again) the Extra Chapter. The Twelve Chakra Sages will continue to be a bit of a mystery for another chapter at least. And to everyone protesting Rin's behaviors and actions, just wait and see. My plots are usually not terribly obvious.

Now, without further ado, I present to you, the sixth chapter of A Place in Time…

---Begin---

Danzo sat in his small underground office. An odd moss growing around the room provided the only dim illumination. He sat slightly hunched over, his cane leaning against the desk. He shuffled a few papers before sighing. He was waiting for his informant to arrive. He looked up quickly as the door creaked and swung open. He watched impassively as the figure of Inuzuka Rin entered.

During Rin's under-cover mission to Kusa, a ROOT member had caught her. He had placed a seal at the base of her skull. A seal that sent chakra strings into the spinal cord.

The seal was a puppeteer seal. It allowed the user to take complete control of something, usually people. The unfortunate thing was that people had a pesky habit of resisting influences. It was used on puppets for a while, but since the seal required a consciousness to inhabit the body, Puppeteers became incredibly easy prey while they controlled their singular puppet. However, Danzo had utilized the seal on Rin's body and had a ROOT agent located somewhere in his HQ always operating as Rin. He had been controlling the seal for so long, he no longer thought of himself as who he was, he had become Rin.

Danzo looked at his Rin Puppet. When he looked closely enough he could see a spark of the old Rin deep within the body. He gave a small laugh as he stroked Rin's face, watching the miniscule muscle twitches indicating she wanted to jerk away from him. Danzo just chuckled and took his seat once more. He looked once more at the puppet.

"Rin… what do you have to report to me?" The controller instantly fell into ROOT Mode.

"I've discovered the name of the child being placed under Hatake Kakashi. The child's name is Uzumaki Naruto, and they intend to train him as an Assassination Specialist." Danzo nearly choked when he heard the name.

"Are you sure you heard the name right?" He wasn't taking any chances.

"Yes Danzo-sama. I spoke with Hatake Kakashi personally and he mentioned him by name." The ROOT member didn't find it important to mention the fact that 'Kyuubi Child' had slipped. That was not something ROOT Members said. He had been trained to report only what he was supposed to, which led to some better reports concerning details, but concerning details not pertaining directly to the mission, everything was lost.

"Leave me. I need time to think about this." The ROOT Member nodded and bowed. He stepped back through the door, falling back into the character of Rin. Danzo stared at the large seal on his wall.

"So… it's the Kyuubi Brat that's being trained by Hatake… He would have made an excellent ROOT member, but he's far too headstrong. But if he's the one who has wind and water affinities… and they're training his lightning affinity…" Danzo suddenly sat upright in his chair. His visible eye was twitching slightly, and the bandages over his other eye seemed to twitch in anticipation.

"The Kyuubi was Water, Fire, and Earth aligned… That means the boy's Water affinity will match if not outdo his primary Wind affinity. And with Fire and Earth…" Danzo's face paled. "He would be aligned to all 5 elements…" Danzo had never heard of someone having all 5 elemental affinities. The last person to do so was the Six Paths Sage, and the power he wielded was absolutely enormous. He gripped the table and turned up his listening seal. This could be a bigger wrench in his plans than he had previously expected.

Danzo let out a sigh as he turned to the seal and listened. The sound of a brush flitting lightly over paper calmed Danzo down as it always did, and he could almost rely on Sarutobi to either be painting or discussing important matters.

---Break---

Sarutobi sat behind his desk his brush deftly swirling across the scroll in front of him. He gave a small smirk as every couple of strokes he would make one on his desk. It was more of an experiment than anything else. If it worked he would carve it into his desk permanently. He chuckled as he looked at the small glowing seal on his desk.

_'How much of a naïve Hokage do you take me for Danzo? I've been in this office for over thirty years and you think a seal carved into my desk would go unnoticed?'_ Sarutobi was hoping to reverse engineer the seal so that it would give him insight into wherever it was Danzo kept the receiver seal.

Sarutobi looked at the scroll that he was writing. It was a message to Kakashi. It was written to be delivered once Sarutobi died. In the scroll he was leaving his most important messages. He was leaving the secret of Naruto's heritage to Kakashi. He glanced up at the picture of the Yondaime on the wall as it stared him down. He took a deep breath before continuing to write.

He knew the Yondaime would be disappointed in him for informing Naruto so late in his life. Ten years without knowing who his parents were. The Yondaime's face stared him down continually and he sighed before thinking to himself.

_'What would you have me do Minato? You know who Naruto's parents were. You knew them far better than I ever did… I can't go spouting off who they were… Naruto's life is in enough danger already. I don't need him running off to find his heritage.'_ Sarutobi slowly wrote the last few lines of the note before sealing it with a blood seal that would not disappear until his death.

He moved a small panel on his desk before swiping his blood across a hidden seal. A small door appeared. He opened the door and slipped the scroll inside before closing the door and swiping his blood across the seal once more, causing the door to disappear. He remembered the last few lines of his note.

_'Kakashi. If Naruto heads for Kusa or Nami to rediscover his heritage, go with him. What awaits him there is not of a kind or friendly nature.'_

Sarutobi closed his eyes and remembered his excursions to Kusa and Nami when he was much younger. He hadn't known it then but he had met Naruto's ancestors. Their secrets were so jealously guarded that it was suicide for someone of even his caliber to chase after them. But Naruto was only a ten year old boy. What would he know of his parents?

Sarutobi didn't know it at the time, but his note that he left since Naruto was becoming an Apprentice would cause ripples throughout the Shinobi World. Sarutobi had just taken the Butterfly Effect, smacked the butterfly out of the way and started waving a fan.

As Sarutobi closed his eyes and leaned back he heard a slight grumbling and then quiet shouting. He immediately sat up and pressed his ear to the seal he had drawn. He could hear Danzo yelling at someone about messing up the new recruits' emotional desensitization training. He grinned before pulling out a small knife. He had some adjustments to make.

---Break---

Naruto lay in his bed in his apartment staring at the ceiling. He would meet Kakashi the next day for his day of training with the smut-nosed shinobi. He had no idea what was in store for him this time around. He had still been in the Shinobi Academy at this age in his last life. That was such an odd and foreign thought for him. He let his hand fall limply by his side where his swords used to lay.

He frowned as he remembered the familiar weight of his Zanbatou. He had started off with just a standard Zanbatou, but it hadn't been anywhere near the quality that he had needed. He had eventually returned to Wave to claim Zabuza's Kubikiri Houcho. However he had discovered that an odd boy with the ability to transform into water had taken it. His name was Suigetsu. In his anger Naruto slaughtered Suigetsu and claimed Zabuza's Zanbatou which Suigetsu had kept in good condition.

Naruto never felt remorse about slaying Suigetsu. He had robbed Zabuza's grave whereas Naruto was merely returning to claim his spoils of war.

He also felt the lack of weight from his Katana. It hadn't been anything particularly special, but it held a special place with Naruto.

And lastly came the light swinging weight of the hilt that used to hang on his belt. He didn't know where it was, but he knew where it would be in five years. It was Konoha's hereditary blade, the Raijin. Stolen by the A-Rank missing Nin Rokushou Aoi.

He rolled over and stared at the wall. Kakashi was a terrible teacher to him the last time around. But now… with Kakashi's full attention, and his knowledge of his past life, Naruto swore he would change things. The images of his dying friends flashed through his mind once more, only this time there was more.

Amid the visions of his friend's bodies burning, dismembered and bloody, there was a new face. The last face that passed into his vision was one that wasn't dismembered; it wasn't bloody nor was it dismembered. Yet this face brought a tear to his face. He had done so much for him.

As Naruto closed his eyes and drifted into sleep, the image of the Kyuubi no Kitsune flashed in his mind. As he drifted further and further into sleep, he shed a tear just for the Kyuubi. And just as he was on the precipice of sleep a voice rang through his mind.

**"The hell?"**

Naruto immediately shot up in bed. He spoke aloud to himself as if to assure himself that it was just one big hallucination. "Kyuubi?"

To his surprise and astonishment, he was answered. **"Kit. What the hell happened? Why am I back here?"**

Naruto couldn't answer Kyuubi. All he could do was blink his eyes in astonishment.

---Break---

The Sandaime Hokage grinned as he began writing in a long scroll. He had finally been able to start compiling evidence against Danzo. However, routing Danzo from Konoha and destroying all remnants of ROOT would be an immensely difficult task. It would take careful planning and even more careful execution.

Sarutobi ran his hand over the desk and Danzo's quiet talking filled his office. He was discussing orders with a ROOT member who was being sent as an under-cover agent to Iwa. Sarutobi listened as he instructed him to meet up with the other ROOT Plants. It was here that Sarutobi learned of a greatly kept secret.

Iwa was the most unfortunate of all the Five Great Countries. They had just instated their Rokudaime Tsuchikage. No other great country had had so many Kages. But what Sarutobi overheard was most distressing. Iwa's Sandaime Tsuchikage, a short and old, but extremely powerful shinobi, had been assassinated by one of Danzo's ROOT members. The Yondaime Tsuchikage was a ROOT Plant sent there specifically to use Iwa for whatever reason was necessary.

However, the Yondaime Tsuchikage was quickly, and very quietly, removed from office. In his place rose, the Godaime Tsuchikage. Danzo, displeased with the fact that the Godaime Tsuchikage was more peace-loving than the former Tsuchikages, ordered him to be assassinated. However, in the midst of the assassination attempt, the assassin was murdered.

Then the Rokudaime Tsuchikage rose to power. No one really knew what he looked like. When he appeared in the morning, the Godaime's body hanging bleeding and dismembered from the Tsuchikage's Tower, he was wearing a large straw hat. His body was covered in a bulky robe. His voice was soothing and a mellow baritone. He had followed the tradition of new Tsuchikage's by accepting any challenger who wishes to contend for the title of Rokudaime Tsuchikage.

Every challenger lasted no more than thirty seconds. No one knew exactly how he did it, but the new Tsuchikage killed them with disturbing ease. The medical shinobi determined that all seven challengers died because of a burst heart. The Rokudaime had gone unquestioned from that point onwards.

The Rokudaime quickly set about to transform Iwa from the poor agricultural society it was, into a powerhouse. Iwagakure was hardly anything like a Shinobi Village. It was ramshackle huts and lean-to's built crudely out of earth and stone and what little wood could be found in the barren lands of Iwa. The Rokudaime transformed the Tsuchikage Tower first. It went from a small three story building, to a towering stone monolith. It was humongous. Its base spread nearly five times what Konoha's Hokage Tower did.

The Rokudaime then built it upward, several hundred feet into the sky. He purposefully modeled it after the Hokage Tower. He was using their hatred of Konoha to fuel their pride. The Tsuchikage then began greatly expanding Iwagakure by annexing small villages that lived just at its edges. He then began constructing enormous walls around the newly enlarged city. He split the city into four sections. The Northern quarter was the Market Quarter where all shops and vendors were located. The West Quarter was the Shinobi Residential Quarter. It was similar to the East Quarter which was the Civilian Residential Quarter. They both housed all of their respective kind. The Southern Quarter was the Industrial Quarter.

Iwa was at the forefront of metal smelting due to the enormous ore deposits located in their mountains. The Industrial Sector was filled with refineries, forges, and blacksmiths constantly pouring out metal works. The Rokudaime located the Ninja Academy three miles to the South of Iwagakure. It was less of a school and more of a compound where all prospective Shinobi lived and trained before becoming Genin.

The Rokudaime was ruthless when routing all crime in the city. The first thing he did was removing any resembling a Red-Light District. There were still sales of alcoholic beverages in the Market Sector, but no bars or stalls where one could sit and drink. Food vendors were allowed, but the primary item had to be food. Anyone attempting to bypass these laws simply disappeared, and their lot auctioned off to prospective owners. Instead, the Rokudaime instituted a new idea.

He created multiple Red Cities. Red cities were clusters of business, bars, brothels, hot springs, and the like. These cities were filled with alcohol and sex. However, they were amazingly well policed. The Red Cities were the Rokudaime's way of rewarding shinobi. After completing a number of missions, they were given a stay in a Red City. The number of missions and their rank equated to how many days they were given.

Since the cities were populated by Shinobi, prostitutes, and bar owners, fights occasionally broke out. In one instance, a shinobi attacked a prostitute who was off duty for not submitting to him. He attempted to rape her, but was stopped before he had even reached her. The other Shinobi in the town greatly respected everyone who ran the Red Cities and despised anyone who harmed them. They worked for their stay, and wouldn't let some stupid ruffian screw it up. In effect, the visitors of the Red Cities were its police force.

The Rokudaime also set about extending more opportunity to the poorer farmers spread out in Iwa. He offered them chances to send their children to the Shinobi Academy or to become workers in the Industrial Sector. Those who stayed as farmers were visited by Genin as D-Rank missions to teach them to use simple Doton jutsu to plant and plow more quickly and to improve crop yield.

Overall the Rokudaime Tsuchikage was quickly transforming Iwa from a poor rundown country devastated by the loss of the Second Great Shinobi War fifteen years earlier, into a major powerhouse in just thirteen years. Danzo however, was displeased with how much control the Tsuchikage was taking in Iwa and sent his ROOT to assassinate him. However, his Anbu were quickly killed, and once the Rokudaime made them the focus of his attention, the other Plants were quickly found and executed.

That had been two years ago and now Danzo was attempting to re-establish his connections in Iwa, but was having very little success.

This news troubled Sarutobi. They hadn't heard of any of this. To the knowledge of most of the world, the Sandaime Tsuchikage still held power. However, Danzo's inside information proved that false.

Sarutobi quickly wrote down all that he had heard Danzo tell his new plant. He shook his head for the poor lad. There was no way he would make it into Iwa, and then back out alive if this Rokudaime Tsuchikage was as powerful as he seemed. Unfortunately, he had no other sources of information. Sarutobi sighed as he unsealed the secret cupboard once more, placing the scroll inside.

Iwa becoming such a powerhouse was indeed a large problem, but Sarutobi had the feeling that there were underlying motives to this Rokudaime's actions. Danzo was making a huge mistake. His motives were far too obvious. He wished to infiltrate Iwa and take over.

But this Rokudaime Tsuchikage… He improved Iwa. He didn't just produce a huge military force and use it to wage war. He was building a force that was more than just mere military. He wasn't building an army, he was building a _country_.

---Break---

Naruto was walking towards Training Ground 9 his mind in a jumble. His mind flashed back to the previous night when Kyuubi had suddenly reappeared.

--Flashback—

_Naruto sat upright in his bead, unable to comprehend the fact that the Kyuubi was once sealed within him. _'Kyuubi is that really you, or am I just suffering from hallucinations caused by this whole time travel ordeal?' _An echoing laugh resounded throughout his head._

_**'I'm as real as they come Kit. Although why they come **_**back**_** after sacrificing themselves, and confining themselves to an Eternity in Hell to give you another chance to fix everything you screwed over the first time is still a mystery.'**_

_ Naruto couldn't believe it. Kyuubi was actually _alive._ And ungrateful as ever…_

_**'Don't get me wrong boy, I am not, nor have I ever been ungrateful. I was sitting down in Hell, bit of a nasty place, for barely a year, and suddenly I'm back here, once more located within your gut. Although it's no longer a sewer, which is a nice aesthetic change.'**_

_ 'Kyuubi… that still doesn't even begin to explain why you're here. And... you're you. You're not the Kyuubi was from when I was ten years old!'_

_ Kyuubi just laughed at Naruto. __**'Of course I'm not! You see, all Divine beings, regardless of them being evil or good in the eyes of existence, exist in a Continuous String. If one version of us in a dimension dies, all other versions do too. Not in the same way perhaps, but they do. So, when I confined myself to Hell, I effectively ended every single Universe besides the one to which I transported you.'**_

_ Naruto was gaping at what the Kyuubi was telling him. 'You mean, we're single-handedly responsible for the deaths of everyone and everything?' Naruto was getting pretty depressed over this whole thing._

_**'No. They simply ceased to exist outside this singular universe. And they all ended because they all collided at a singular point. When every single Universe matches up with the others, the dominant Universe begins the Universe of Origin. The Universe from which all others will spring. Also, the rules in the Universe of Origin are slightly… **_**bent**_**, compared to the others.'**_

___'Bent in what ways?'_

_**'Well, you brought me back somehow. Since this is the Universe of Origin, I was able to come back, and all the other Universes are now gone. However, the Universes are once multiplying to infinity. This conversation has already spawned trillions upon trillions of Universes. Any minute difference anywhere in the world causes another Universe to split off.'**_

_ 'Uhh… Kyuubi… You're kinda starting to get all confusing and philosophical and what not…'_

_** 'You're twenty-six years old Kit. You should be able to understand it. But regardless… What did you do to bring me back?'**_

_ Naruto thought for a minute, before he realized what might have caused it._

_ 'Kyuubi. If this is the Universe of Origin, is it at all possible that _Gods_ could interfere with it?' Kyuubi thought for a moment._

_**'Yes… yes it is very possible. But… I'm a Bijuu of the highest ranking. They've been trying to confine me to Hell for years, but they've never succeeded. I've always managed to avoid it. They never expected me to go there of my own free will. It was a nice change, but it gets boring very quickly.'**_

_ 'Kyuubi… is there any way that a demon can permanently escape Hell?' Kyuubi blinked before thinking for a long time. He slowly began to respond._

_**'Yes… I've heard… of a way. Although to my incredibly extensive knowledge no demon has ever been able to accomplish it.' **__Naruto nodded slowly._

_ 'And what is this way?'_

_**'It is simply, to be Loved.'**__ Naruto blinked. __**'I don't expect you to understand. Demons are Demons. We cannot show each other Love. We know only what is **_**shown**_** to us. What we are **_**given.**_** Demons are born without emotion. We quickly learn hate and anger from other demons, which stems from the rejection we were shown by Humans when we first arrived. We've developed cunning, happiness, greed, and nearly every other emotion, except for **_**Love**_**. No human being has ever shown a demon love. Humans have made pacts with Demons, but no human has ever actually truly admitted in their hearts, in a way that is undeniable before even the Gods. When they admit it, they create a bond between them that is unbreakable, and they are drawn together for eternity.'**_

_'Kyuubi… I think that might be what happened… I was thinking of all my friends last night. And… you were the last one to come to my mind…' The Kyuubi blinked at the admission._

_**'That would do it Kit. Congratulations. You've become the first person who has ever loved a demon, and the first person to ever pull someone or something out of Hell. And the only person to re-write which Universe was the Universe of Origin.'**_

_ Naruto smiled. He now had a friend who had been with him from the beginning. He smiled as he drifted off into sleep finally. Never contemplating exactly what Kyuubi meant when it spoke of Love._

_ The Kyuubi sighed as it settled into its former place in Naruto's Mind. However, as he watched, the Seal seemed to dissipate ever so slightly causing Kyuubi to blink._

_**'Even the Yondaime's Seal can't overcome the power of Love.'**__ The Kyuubi snorted. __**'How cliché…'**_

_ The Kyuubi settled in for a night of rest. Taking his mind off of the seal in front of him that slowly began to deteriorate quicker as Kyuubi descended into sleep._

_--_End Flashback--

Naruto arrived at Training Ground 9 at approximately eight o'clock in the morning. Much to his chagrin, Kakashi hadn't arrived yet. He most likely would arrive somewhere around nine. Naruto sighed and stretched out on the grass watching clouds drift by. He closed his eyes and breathed in the lightly scented air. He allowed the sun to warm him to his bones, and enjoyed this moment. For years he had been surrounded by death and destruction, and the only warmth he had received was from the blood that coated him as he cut down hoards of enemies aiming for Akatsuki.

As he settled into the grass the grumbling voice in the back of his mind revived itself once more. **"What do you suppose your training is going to entail this time around Kit? And who's on your team? Not those disgusting brats Pinkie and Duck." **Naruto chuckled at the Kyuubi's references to Sasuke and Sakura.

"I don't have a team this time around Kyuubi. I've been assigned Kakashi as a Mentor this time. Probably as a Combat Specialist. Makes sense considering my enormous chakra reserves. But now that I have you back now Kyuubi, my chakra will most likely be very recognizable."

The Kyuubi nodded for a moment before coughing. **"That's very interesting. I never figured the Hatake for a Combat-Specialist Mentor. Huh. Shows how much I know about how you Ningen think. And… uh… Kit. There's something you need to know." **Naruto listened. **"I don't have my chakra anymore."** Naruto's face became one of shock and horror.

"What do you mean you don't have your chakra anymore? You're back aren't you?" Kyuubi nodded.

**"Yes... but the Time Travel technique consumed the majority of it and my Resurrection to this Dimension, one where I previously was non-existent, my Chakra was near to non-existent, and as such the Dimensional Transfer eliminated it completely. However, the chakra used to send you here, some of it was absorbed by you, and as such increased your chakra capacity."** Naruto ran his hand through his hair while sighing.

"Damn. So I have even more Chakra?" The Kyuubi simply nodded. "How much of a difference is that going to make in the long run?" The Kyuubi thought for a moment.

**"Considering you don't have all of it yet, not a lot. Your body can't handle the chakra of eight tails of a Bijuu. Your chakra will increase at a quicker pace than a normal Shinobi, but you won't become a Chakra God until you reach the physical capability where your body could handle eight tails of chakra without any negative repercussions. I'm sure you remember the last time you went eight tails."**

Naruto did indeed remember the last time he had gone eight tails. It had been when he was training to face Uchiha Madara. He had become a furless fox. It was a gruesome sight, and an even more gruesome thing to be. He never wanted to turn into that… thing, again. But the power he had felt was enormous. He could feel the air responding to the chakra floating off of him. The water quivered at his presence. The dirt shivered and seemingly floated closer to him. The temperature rose and sparks burst around him. Electricity had crackled across his exposed muscle. It was a magnificent feeling.

If he could be like that ALL the time… which in reality would be around the time he could handle four tails. Then when he hit eight tails, it would be twice that. The power would be nearly uncontrollable.

**"You've got a long way to go. You could hardly even handle a full tail's worth in your past life when Duck defected. By the end of that life, two and a half at most." **Naruto sighed. With that kind of improvement, he doubted he would ever make it to eight tails. He would need the life-span of Uchiha Madara in order to accomplish it. He could rest a little easier knowing his Moon's Eye plan would go un-accomplished.

"Kyuubi. I remember when I was in the eight tailed form, the elements responded to my chakra. I know I'm water and wind affiliated, and you're fire and earth affiliated, so where does lightning come from?" The Kyuubi thought for a moment.

**"I believe it was the Raijin you wielded for so long. Its lightning powers were carried by your chakra when you wielded it, and when the chakra you supplied it was withdrawn, it carried an elemental affinity, which was eventually transferred to you."** Naruto nodded. He would have to consider that more this time around.

He glanced at the sun. It was getting very close to the nine. He closed his eyes and basked in the sun, the silence from Kyuubi a welcome one. He idly wondered what Kakashi would do when he arrived. He was also thinking of which excuse Kakashi would use this time around. His thoughts wandered to what Team Gai was up to at the time…

---Break---

Gai cheered as his team engaged in a spar. He was spouting continuously about the "Flames of Youth" and their power. However, when Lee who was spouting the same nonsense was knocked out by the combined power of Tenten and Neji, they turned on their sensei.

"Yosh! Let us see if your powers of youth compare to my own!" Gai may have been incredibly eccentric, but they hadn't taken into account why Gai was a Jounin.

---Break---

The Sandaime sat at his desk reading over the daily proposals. He sorted the missions into their appropriate categories, approving the application for Konoha Shinobi to be sent on it. He sighed as he filled out form after form, rejecting proposals with no merit. He sighed as he read over the Chuunin Exam invitation. He had rejected the proposal from six months ago for Konoha attending the exams in Kumo. He had been informed that Suna and Iwa had also declined the invitation. As such, the chuunin exams would commence with smaller countries and Kiri attending. Anyone promoted wouldn't be regarded as an official Chuunin as they weren't approved by Three or more of the Kages. they could however be promoted internally and practice their skills with B-Rank missions.

The next Chuunin Exams would be held in Iwa. His preliminary intelligence informed him that Suna, Kiri, and Kumo were all leaning towards attending. Not wishing to appear as a weak country in front of the Daimyos and other countries, Sarutobi decided he would attend. These Chuunin Exams would be held in one year, as was the case with all Chuunin Exam invitations. Sarutobi sighed as he counted. Konoha's turn would be approaching soon.

He wished for Naruto to advance to Chuunin, but he feared Iwa would be too hostile towards him. He would have to wait at least at a year before he advanced. Waiting for him to participate in Konoha's Chuunin Exams would come off as too much favoritism which actually wasn't unusual, but with Konoha's current reputation as a peace-loving country, favoritism provided a bad image to the Daimyo.

He sighed as he leaned back in his chair. Danzo hadn't made any noise for several days. He was starting to wonder what Danzo was doing. He pushed the thought out of his mind as he signed his acceptance of the Iwa Chuunin Exams. He then looked over the paper. One which was requesting aid in Nami to deal with common thugs. As he read it over, he noticed several details didn't add up. Something odd was going on in Nami, and he wanted to figure out what. Nami was a major seafood importer to Konoha. Sushi and fish products made up about thirteen percent of Konoha's Market. An unacceptable percentage to lose. Sarutobi signed the paper under a C-Ranked mission and filed it. However, it would be a week before it was assigned.

---Break---

Danzo liked very few things. One of those things was good Sake. Not the cheap kind you found at teahouses that Danzo described with the phrase, "This is the sake made out of the rice that was watered by the poorest piss of the poorest farmers, that only tastes anything close to something similar to sake, because the farmers got to taste the good sake before pissing on this." He liked the expensive Sake.

Danzo also liked power. Lots of power. But his like of power came from his love of control. Danzo had very rarely ever been in control of anything in his life. His loss of his left eye, and the majority of the control over his arm, drove Danzo to seek control over anything he could. Danzo liked the power to control.

Danzo liked to swear. Whenever something went wrong, an expletive was emitted from Danzo's mouth. Danzo didn't utter them without a thought or care. He carefully planned what situation each one was to be used in. He ranked them, and he decided how he would pronounce them too. Danzo liked swearing, and he liked controlling it too.

Danzo also liked pretty things. He allowed himself small bits of joy by keeping a piece of colored glass, a marble, a sake bottle, or whatever caught his fancy. Danzo was indeed an eccentric individual. Danzo liked pretty, especially shiny things.

At this particular moment, Danzo was doing the third. He was swearing. He uttered expletive after expletive, each executed just how he wanted it. why was Danzo swearing so profusely at this very moment? It was because of what he had just learned from his excursion to Kiri. His ROOT agents there had been particularly helpful, and had informed that the current Mizukage was looking into promoting, of all people a _woman_ to the position of Mizukage.

Contrary to what he liked, Danzo disliked many things. One of those was women. Danzo had never had any romantic success. Danzo had never had a caring mother or other womanly figure. He also saw them as weak, and incompetent. This fact was why ROOT was primarily male. Danzo disliked women in positions of power, besides those of Daimyo or others that were hereditary, as those were unavoidable, and who has he to question Fate?

What really set Danzo off was the Chuunin Exams being held in Iwa. He wished to use it as a chance to sabotage the other countries while they were inside. Sabotage in such ways that wouldn't appear for months, or years. The Economic and Military collapse of Smoke Country, a country that had been on the rise, and in forty years or so, could have become powerful to displace one of the Great Five and create a new power. Danzo had taken it down. The Great Five were too well established to take down, but he could cause damage.

In truth, Danzo had prevented more wars than any other Shinobi in history. constant sabotage had reduced powers to the point where they refused to wage war. However, he now had no information on Iwa and they could pose a problem. So he swore. Again.

Danzo stood outside the Kage's Office in Kiri. He took a deep breath as he prepared to enter. This was a tricky diplomatic situation, and he did not wish to endanger his life.

---Break---

Naruto opened his eye as the sun was blocked by something. He looked up and noticed Kakashi standing there, his eye in its distinctive smile shape. He raised his right hand in a simple gesture.

"Yo." Naruto sighed.

"Late as usual Kakashi-sensei." Kakashi just continued to smile. "So, what are we planning to start with today sensei?" Kakashi fiddled around his vest pocket for a moment before pulling out a sheet of paper.

"Let's start with getting to know each other. I don't have the choice to fail you, and I've been instructed to train you as an Assassination Specialist. I want to get to know my student this time." Naruto blinked at the unexpected announcement. Kakashi had never been this personal before.

Taking a seat, Naruto began to talk. "Where would you like me to start Kakashi-sensei?" Kakashi thought for a moment.

"I'll have time to learn your life story later, if ever. What I want to hear right now, is what sort of things interest you, what sort of things you dislike, your hobbies, and the like." Naruto nodded and began describing his personality.

Throughout the whole description, Kakashi sat and listened patiently. Naruto smiled as he spoke. Never before had he been so happy to tell someone about himself. Never before had anyone really cared to ask.

---End---

A/N: And Kakashi and Naruto's interaction is postponed even more! This chapter is about 6000 words, 1000 more than what I consider the minimum for a good chapter. I apologize for the somewhat long-winded explanation of Iwa, but I felt the need the build it up in such a way. It is similar to what happened in China with the Great Leap Forward and steel forging, only it was successful in Iwa.

Danzo is in Kiri right now, but for what reason, we don't know. And the trouble in Nami isn't Gato. I will say that Gato is the successor to the events that would normally transpire in Nami without Naruto's intervention.

I realize this story so far is very detail and interaction heavy with no fighting. Please be patient. Rome wasn't built in a day nor does the roof support itself. This is all a build up to a big conclusion. I have no idea how many chapters it'll take before I finish this story. Rest assured it won't be soon. So, be patient and enjoy what I offer. Isn't it better to wonder what's going to happen for chapter after chapter, only to reach a satisfying conclusion?

Regardless, I'm writing a lot more now. This was the product of about five days with writing. I couldn't get to it on Thursday since I began on Monday and ended Saturday night. Rest assured, more updates are coming. I am however considering writing a Bleach Crossover. I've always been an enormous fan of Hollow Naruto. So keep an eye for that too.

Until next time, Eternal Thief.


	7. Rising Mists

A Place in Time

Chapter 7: Rising Mists

A/N: I introduced a lot in the last chapter. This chapter is going to be a little less information heavy. It'll be more of a plot progression I suppose. Brings in the interactions of Naruto and Kakashi a little. Not as much as I wanted, but next chapter will be much more heavy with them.

Well, this story has also breached all my former expectations. More than **doubling** the number of Reviews Red Moon's Cry has received, in one more chapter, is amazing. Breaking 150 reviews is a huge monument for me. I'd like to extend a HUMONGOUS thank you to everyone who has helped me reach this goal. Couldn't have made it without you guys. I'd like to extend a special thanks to two of my readers, KGB and ViperineVampire. I do have a tendency to overcomplicate my plots, but sometimes all I need is a friendly message to pull me back down to Earth. Now, no guarantee where this chapter's going to end up, but I hope you'll stay on for the ride! And without further ado, I present to you, the Seventh Chapter of A Place in Time!

---Break---

Naruto sat on the ground in front of Hatake Kakashi. The man looked down at him, his face seemingly the picture of indifference. Naruto looked at the nearly fully covered face of Hatake Kakashi. It had been years since Naruto had seen his former sensei. The last time had been against Pein when Konoha was destroyed…

Kakashi had given it his all performing Susanoo to save the lives of hundreds of civilians. The strain had cost Kakashi his life. Naruto sighed to himself. He was here now, and he was alive, and so were all of his friends. He considered himself very lucky for that.

**"That's damn right you're lucky you little whelp. You'd be dead a long time ago if it hadn't been for me. You would have died on that first mission to Wave without my help."** Naruto smirked slightly to himself. His one constant companion was still there.

_'But remember Kyuubi, you're the entire reason why I was even on Team 7 in the first place. You're the reason my life was so horrible in the first place.'_ The Kyuubi merely snorted.

**"That may be so, but if you didn't have me you wouldn't be here. True, the world wouldn't have been destroyed, but the world probably would have been destroyed by Madara if it had been anyone else."** Naruto nodded to himself. It was true. He and Kyuubi was a match made in Heaven, or Hell more likely. Whatever convenience it had been, Fate must have been quite drunk at the time that She decided that Naruto and Kyuubi were going to be stuck together for his entire life.

Hatake Kakashi eyed his new student with no small amount of suspicion. Here was a child who had the strongest demon ever known to walk the Earth. He then shows up to the Academy one day, and with previously un-displayed skill, graduates early. And this wasn't even during a war for that matter, making it that much more unusual. Plus the boy had created his own jutsu.

He had surpassed all expectations, he had surprised everyone, and he had done it all within just a few days. And Kakashi swore, when he was listening to Naruto talk about his life he was recounting something that happened many years ago, and had been clouded by more recent, more vivid memories. Kakashi had very little idea just how right he was about that.

Naruto didn't like the way that Kakashi was looking at him. He suspected Kakashi might actually have some semblance of an idea about why he was so advanced in abilities for his age. He really didn't wish to kill the man. He rather enjoyed the atmosphere of Konoha when he was able to relax and enjoy it. If Kakashi were to somehow discover his inconvenient origin then he would undoubtedly be forced to remove Kakashi. He carried enough weight with him that he could potentially convince the Hokage or several council members that he was indeed from the future.

Naruto had plenty of experience being a weapon. He hadn't realized it until later in his life, but he was no different from any of the other Jinchuuriki. He was a weapon used by Konoha and by the Council for their own personal gains. He thought he was different. He thought he had meant something.

Konoha had never vested any interest in Team 7 other than Uchiha Sasuke. Naruto originally believed that he was placed on that particular team in order to act as a stepping stone for the bastard. He was truly placed there in order to protect Sasuke. The Council saw the enormous potential of the Kyuubi's Container, and had planned to utilize it.

Naruto had had few qualms when he had watched the slaughter of the council. His major concern was that he had been unable to join in the festivities.

Naruto held very little connection to Kakashi. His friends brought up terrible memories. Their mangled bloody bodies lying on the ground, their limbs strewn across a desolate wasteland, a cackling figure standing over them, a weapon or some portion of an anatomy dripping with their fresh blood. When Naruto thought about Kakashi, the only things that came to mind were all the memories of him being passed for the Uchiha.

Naruto was willing to give him a second chance. He couldn't judge Kakashi by how his counterpart acted. He was willing to wait and see how this Kakashi would act when the Uchiha was assigned a sensei in a few years.

Naruto listened lazily as Kakashi began to speak once more.

"Alright. We'll meet at Training Ground… Forty-Five tomorrow. We'll be doing a skills assessment exercise, and then we'll take our first mission!" Kakashi gave a thumbs-up and smiled, although it was hardly visible beneath his mask. Naruto sighed. How much of his power should he reveal to Kakashi? Any way he looked at it, he was far underpowered from his normal self. He lacked his swords and hadn't had very long to become accustomed to his ten year old self. He decided he would give it a decent shot. Kakashi would be able to handle anything he could throw at him.

"Very well Kakashi-sensei. I will be at Training Ground Forty-Five at Ten O'clock." Kakashi still smiling responded blithely.

"Ah ah ah! Don't you know Naruto; the customary meeting time for Shinobi teams is Seven O'clock!" Naruto just smirked.

"As I said, I'll be there at ten." With those parting words, Naruto stood and left. Kakashi was left blinking his one eye. He placed his hand in his chin.

"Hmm. An interesting brat. Shows a total disregard for authority, he's cocky, he's a loner, he' very secluded it seems… all in all, I hate the kid." Kakashi couldn't help but smirk to himself as he assessed Naruto's personality. He nodded to himself a few times. "I'll just have to kick the crap out of him tomorrow morning." Nodding once more, Kakashi pulled out a small orange book and flipped it open to the page he had last been reading, before resuming his well known past time, giggling all the while.

It was obvious Kakashi didn't think much of having an Apprentice. He knew Naruto was supposedly talented, with a penchant for three elements, but when he looked at him, all he could see was a snot-nosed brat who felt they were entitled something. He was a respectful, somewhat, brat, but a brat nonetheless. He would prove that he was nothing but a brat with no claim to fame in the morning. Then he would be out of this unfortunate partnership.

And if the beating Kakashi had planned in the morning didn't show the kid how useless it was to attempt to be something you aren't, then hopefully he would be discouraged by the D-Rank missions. Kakashi allowed a small shudder. Even the great Copy Ninja of Konoha, Hatake Kakashi could stand the horrors of D-Ranked missions.

---Break---

Naruto stepped into his small dimly lit apartment. Sighing he slowly plodded his way over to the worn out sofa. As he dropped himself onto the ancient furniture it gave a squeal of protest and a wheeze of dusty air. Naruto propped his sandaled feet on top of the coffee table as it gave a disconcerting cracking sound at the added weight. He glanced around the small apartment his eyes finally landing on the dismal kitchen space.

He sighed as he looked at the cracked tiling and the refrigerator that hummed with a pitiful whine. There was a small black pot, cracked at the lid and faded. The cupboards were filled with hoarded instant ramen and other various instant foodstuffs that he could be fairly sure were safe for consumption. The rusted faucet would creak and rattle if he turned it on, if his water was working.

He sighed before pulling himself up from the table. He slowly made his way to his bedroom area. Sitting down at his desk he slipped open the drawer holding his "Diary" for lack of a better word. He quickly disabled the fire seal before unrolling the scroll. Taking a quill and an inkwell he quickly scribbled at the bottom of his current list.

_'Apprenticed to Kakashi. Further Developments Expected.'_ He nodded at his simple but necessary addition. He felt that it was finally time for him to make the addition of a better seal.

He rolled up the scroll and grabbed his smallest brush. He carefully focused chakra to his optical nerves improving his eyesight. He watched carefully as he painted the detailed seal onto the scroll, being careful to hold the scroll in such a way that his hand would not slip or move, destroying his careful work layering the seal over the folds of paper.

His hand moved with a swiftness and dexterity only Seal Masters could possess. It was true, Naruto was well versed in the art of sealing, but he was not quite yet a Master. By the standards of a Village, yes, he was. But by the standards of the Hi no Kuni Monks, he was at the level of a Brother of the Sealing Order.

All the Five Major Shinobi Arts had originated from Monks in the different Five Major Countries. Konoha had the Sealing Order, Kumo had the Jutsu Order, Iwa the Taijutsu Order, Suna had the Genjutsu Order, and Kiri had the Kenjutsu Order.

Of course all five Arts had been dispersed throughout the world, and the Hidden Villages refused to specialize like the monks. Suna was hardly a Genjutsu Hub in the Shinobi World. Nor was Kumo at the height of Jutsu creation. And no country could even claim to be close to a Sealing Hub.

Being at the level of a Brother in a Ministerial Order was nothing to be laughed at. Many Shinobi had neither the time nor the patience to even reach an acceptable standard to be accepted as an Apprentice to one of the Orders. Naruto's dream had changed when he had become interested in sealing.

He hoped to live to the age of forty and then retire from the Shinobi lifestyle and seek Apprenticeship at the Sealing Order Monastery. During his first lifetime, the Monks had initially gone into deep hiding and couldn't be found, even by the new members of Akatsuki. They had later surfaced and attempted to destroy Madara. They had been mercilessly slaughtered and cut down like cattle. A bunch of Monks, even if they were very extensively trained in one subject, were perfect examples of specialization.

They were all taken out with their weaknesses. The only ones who had surviving members were those of the Sealing Order. Several Monks had managed to escape. They had quickly left the fighting and headed for the mountains of Iwa to rebuild their monastery and live out their lives in solitude.

Madara had systematically hunted them down and killed them. Infinite amounts of wisdom and years of training were lost simply due to the madness of one man. Naruto couldn't let that happen again.

Finishing drawing the seal Naruto began to channel chakra into it. He pumped quite a substantial bit as the seal attuned itself to all of the intricacies of his chakra. As the seal glowed for a moment before turning black, Naruto reached into a separate drawer and pulled out a candle. Using his slight fire affinity he lit the candle.

He sat there for a few minutes watching the candle burn, its hot red wax occasionally lazily drooping down the side. He glanced outside the window and noticed that night had fallen. He glanced up at the stars in the sky. He supposed they were the same stars that he had prayed to for years.

He had prayed when he was young. He had asked Kami for forgiveness for whatever transgression it was he had committed to deserve such hatred.

He had prayed when he was older. He had asked Kami for help. He had asked Kami to stop the killing and the death and the blood. He had asked for that terrible war to end.

In the end it hadn't done Naruto a lick of good. Naruto looked up at the stars thinking of the great Kami who supposedly ruled over the world. Leaders were supposed to be kind and benevolent. They weren't supposed to allow genocide to occur. Naruto had at this point lost all faith in any god he may have once believed in.

(A/N: I'm just going to take a pause in the story here. To clear some things up, I'm not an Anti-Religious Person. Naruto's loss of Faith in his God is representative of his hardships. You have someone who asks for something his entire life, and never receives it. It's hard for someone like that to have Faith in just about anything. However, this attitude will return later to affect Naruto.)

---Break---

Danzo muttered to himself as he paced back and forth in his office. He finally snapped.

"DAMN IT! Damn it all to hell!" Danzo slammed his left fist into the wall causing a series of cracks to expand from the point of impact. A small trail of blood began to dribble from his now possibly broken knuckles. Danzo's mood had just become considerably worse.

His contacts in Kiri were dead. A Civil War had yet again erupted in Kirigakure. Danzo's informants had been placed high in the Kiri social structure to get the best information possible. When the civil war erupted they were some of the first to die.

There were now two warring factions. One side believing in the absolute rule of the Mizukage, the other vying for a joint leadership with a civilian council. They had taken names, but Danzo couldn't care less. His information network was crumbling.

What was next? Kumo suddenly decides that it's going to make a new policy that all Shinobi must carry a teddy bear? In Danzo's eyes, the world was falling apart in front of him, and there was nothing he could do to stop it, and he couldn't adapt to it either.

Danzo sat down in his chair and laid his left hand on the desk. He pulled his cloak aside and his right arm hung down, the wrist and hand wrapped in thick bandages, while the rest of his arm was covered in some form of metal gauntlet covered in complex seals. Danzo glanced at his sealed right arm for a moment before standing once more.

"Bastards can't do anything right unless you hold their hand and kick them in the ass…" Danzo thoughts were revolving around how he knew something like this would happen with a female Mizukage. He snorted before He headed for the door.

He pulled it open, his right arm once again hidden. He began to march through the halls. He stopped just before exiting the ROOT Hideout.

"I'm leaving for Kiri. Have Three ROOT meet me at Base Seven in Sector Thirteen." The guard saluted Danzo. Danzo left through the door appearing in the back of a civilian store. The man managing the small shoe store saluted Danzo before returning his comfortable visage, a kindly smile plastered on his face.

Danzo crept through back alleyways finally appearing in front of a broken metal fence hidden by large foliage. He brushed it aside and stepped through. He took a deep breath and exhaled. He hobbled his way towards a nearby path. Who would suspect that Danzo, just an elderly councilman walking through Konoha Park, would be on his way to Kiri for whatever purpose?

---Break---

Kakashi walked in into his small but cozy apartment. He slipped out of his sandals, and slipped on a pair of comfortable slippers. He took off his face mask and set it on a nearby table and picked up a scarf and wrapped it around the lower portion of his face.

He made his way to his kitchen where he turned on his stove, and set a pot of water to boil. He made his way to his large plush chair, before settling himself into a comfortable position. He propped his feet up on an ottoman and reached over and turned on a light, bathing the room in a soft light. He reached over to the table that the lamp rested on, and picked up an orange book.

Kakashi carefully opened the book to his previous page and began to read in the calm atmosphere. He carefully turned each page, careful not to cause any unnecessary damage to his book. A whistling sound filled the air and Kakashi rose from his seat, and once more made his way to the kitchen. He pulled a mug from one of the cupboards, before filling it with boiling water. He pulled a tea bag out of a small pot on his counter before dipping it into the water.

He added a dash of milk, and a spoonful of honey to the tea, before making his way once more to the chair. He set the tea down on the table, before resuming his reading.

All in all, Kakashi's normal evening routing was fairly mundane. However, in all his years of performing this ritual, he had always failed to notice that just outside his window, in the tall bushes he used for privacy, were two coal black eyes, watching his every move. If there had been light, and the figure had not been covered in dark clothing, Kakashi may have noticed a tattoo of a tree on the figure's arm.

---Break---

Naruto's eyes shot open at the six o'clock on the dot. Years of conditioning had trained him to wake at six no matter the conditions. He stretched his limbs before standing from his uncomfortable bed. He glanced around the small disgusting apartment before sighing. He had four hours until he had to be at the Training Ground for Kakashi's test.

Aptitude test my ass. Naruto knew Kakashi had no compassion for him. He had never wanted to be a teacher for anyone but Sasuke. Kakashi had justified his favoritism through the death of his former teammate Obito and other such things. His favoritism had come to bite him in the ass when Naruto tore Sasuke to pieces. He had felt no remorse for destroying the last dregs of the Uchiha Clan. If he had to do it again he wouldn't hesitate.

Sasuke had better pray Naruto didn't run into him any time soon. Naruto's mind still had reservations about his new reality. Sasuke could very well die the first time he ran into Naruto. Not that Naruto would have any reservations about killing him.

Naruto pushed those thoughts from his mind. Sasuke was several years behind him and Kakashi was unavailable as a teacher. He quickly worked his way through his morning routine, boiling water for instant ramen. He quickly devoured the salty noodles, his face an expression of disinterest. Travelling the world had given him a taste for things far more exotic. He finished his meal, tossing the bowl at the sink, not caring when it crashed into the wall and shattered, he opened the rickety door. He knocked on it a few times before giving it a firm kick. It broke off the hinges and fell to the floor.

Naruto sighed. His apartment building was disgusting. He really needed to do something about it. Frowning, he created a large group of Kage Bunshin. Two immediately henged into random villagers before heading for the Konoha Public Library, the rest headed for stores around Konoha. Naruto allowed himself a small smile as he walked away. Things were looking up.

Naruto then began his stroll towards Training Ground Forty-Five. He had about three hours to burn, so he didn't much mind his slow pace. It was relaxing to be able to walk without much urging anyways.

Naruto just began to wander and stroll throughout Konoha, taking in the sights around him, absorbing what small changes had been enacted to this particular existence. Mushishi Weapons was no longer next to Mukitari Tea House. Indeed, both of them had been replaced by a Sushi Bar and Barbecue Joint respectively. He supposed the Mushishi family had been wiped out on some unfortunate mission, while the Mukitari family had gone bankrupt through some misfortunate business deal, perhaps with the infamous Gato.

Gato seemed to be an ever present figure in this reality. However, he wasn't a corrupt man in the slightest. Indeed, people only had good things to speak of about this seemingly clean businessman. Truly, the only thing people in Konoha looked down upon him for was his lucrative supply trading with Iwa. If one where to ask one from Konoha, they would say he was doing it just for the money. Gato would probably answer in a similar manner.

It was through this change in Gato that Naruto realize, Wave country would most likely be prosperous, and Zabuza and Haku would most likely never appear there. The defining of his Nindo and basically his entire life didn't even exist in this dimension. He allowed himself a small laugh. This truly was a redefinition of his being. He continued to smile as he kept walking.

He thought over everything that had changed, everything that had once been, and all that was now different. They all were, or are, or had been. They existed, or did they? Was his reality one of consequence or just one of mere flirtation with existence? Was he actually something? Was he an hour? An entire day? A minute, a week, a second, a century, a year, a moment… And that was when Naruto realized.

Everything was what it was. And everything, simply happened at a place in time.

---Break---

Kakashi slowly opened his eyes, his pale cream ceiling staring back at him. The blaring noise of an alarm clock next to him ringing did nothing to expedite his movements. He was content to move at the pace that he did, and there was hardly anything, if anything at all, that would be able to get the Hatake to move. His hand reached over and lazily clamped down over the cold smooth surface of the clock.

The clanging brought to a halt; Kakashi slowly rose from underneath his covers, lazily slipping his feet from under the covers, onto the floor. Slipping into a pair of slippers next to his bed, Kakashi slowly made his towards his bathroom.

Disregarding the fact that it was six o'clock, Kakashi commenced his daily shower, washing his hair, and other daily grooming tasks. Once he had finished, he opened his large closet, eyeing the fifteen or so identical sets of clothing in his closet. He selected a shirt, a pair of pants, both in the traditional navy blue, a pair of blue sandals, and picked up his slightly worn Jounin vest from the table near his bed, fixing his

Hitai-ate in its customary position. He used wide medical tape to secure the ends of his pants to ankles before slipping on his ninja sandals.

He made his way down the stairs humming a nameless tune to himself as he made his way to his kitchen table. He laid out a bowl of cereal and a cut grapefruit, the other half of it having been eaten the previous morning, and proceeded to calmly eat his breakfast, ignoring the kitchen clock that now read seven thirty. Once he had finished, he made his way to his front door.

Picking up and securing the mask next to the door, Kakashi opened the door, his eye turned upward in his traditional smile. He stepped outside, locked his door behind him, and pulled an ever familiar book out of his pocket. As he walked away, a shadow descended into the trees surrounding his home. It made several motions with what could be conceived as hands, before another shadow appeared to nod before it disappeared.

The second shadow followed Kakashi through the trees until they came to the village proper. Kakashi blended into the crowd, while the shadow fell into the alleyway nearby. A quick application of make-up, and a change of clothes, and the shadow had become Taturi Misasu. Misasu was a somewhat wiry man who always wore thick wire-rimmed glasses. He had a passion for Botany, and regularly visited the Kikita Book Shop for any new arrivals.

For years Kakashi had frequented the same shop checking for new arrivals or editions of Ica-Icha Novels. In all his years visiting, he had never once noticed his fellow bibliophile. It was probably for the better, as if Kakashi had attempted to strike up a conversation with him, all he would receive was a jumbled mutter and mess of words of a civilian intimidated by a shinobi. So, if Kakashi had ever taken notice, he probably wouldn't have taken any action regarding the subject.

But if Kakashi had paid close attention, he would have notice that Misasu carefully making notes in the margin of his botany books. Misasu had never failed to purchase a book on a given day; multiple copies of the same book over time were not uncommon. If asked by the clerk why he was repurchasing the book, he would simply give a stuttered explanation of his clumsiness, which was not uncommon for something with Misasu's mannerisms. The clerk would laugh it off joyously before ringing up his purchase and sending him on his way.

Danzo was always very careful when it came to picking out his subordinates. He trained them to be emotionless and incredibly effective killers who took orders without question. He was known for recruiting people from two distinctive areas.

One. Mental Health Facilities. Danzo was notorious for recruiting people who suffered from Multiple Personality Disorder. Two. Kabuki Theatres. It was known in certain circles, that if one proved themselves an effective enough actor Danzo could recruit you for his ANBU Unit.

Danzo looked for people who could perform assassinations without question and other questionable missions on the streets. He took in orphans and trained them to work in such a manner. But Danzo also needed effective undercover agents. Actors who lived, not played, their characters. People who were compliant and efficient working members of society one minute, and the next a nervous stuttering wreck. Danzo never recruited famous actors. Only those who were budding actors with immense talent. He did nothing to harm those who refused like he would do with shinobi.

Shinobi were calculating and deceptive. Shinobi figured things out. Shinobi understood Shinobi affairs. A civilian who suffered from MPD or some actor who wished to earn more money while feeling like he was contributing to something much larger than himself; they weren't threats. They were annoyances. Not even blips on Danzo's Radar. He didn't treat them any differently than other ROOT members. They weren't more glorious because they were given important infiltration missions.

They were Civilians. And that's all that the Shinobi needed to push them out of their mind and assert their superiority.

Kakashi had never thought of that. And so he simply ignored the man, glanced at the store clock, and realizing it was about ten oh five, he used the Shunshin to teleport to the Training Ground, leaving Misasu to pay for his book.

---Break---

Danzo sat in a hard-backed wooden chair. The office in which he currently resided was bare with minimal decoration. The owner of this office either didn't enjoy having fancy frivolous objects decorating their office, or rather as was most likely the case, they couldn't afford it.

Danzo was sitting in the office of the Bloody Mizukage. Bloody because she supported the Pro-Bloodline side of the Kiri Bloodlines Civil War. The Bloodless Mizukage was a man by the name of Matairo Gusishi. He was staunchly in favor of eliminating all bloodlines from Kiri while the Bloody Mizukage, Terumi Mei, wielding two Bloodlines herself, supported the Pro-Bloodline Faction.

The war erupted when the Yondaime Mizukage, simply known as Yagura, died. Upon his death, his terrible reign ended, and the Three-Tailed Giant Turtle was released. It had not yet returned to Kirigakure. Yagura had instituted the Kiri Bloodline hunts, and a faction wished for it to continue.

While the Bloodless side was quite numerous, supported by a majority of civilians who viewed those with Bloodlines as Demons or Freaks, they were largely untrained and disorganized.

The Bloody side consisted of trained Shinobi and Bloodline Wielders. While there were less of them, they were far more skilled. They could face down a Bloodless Army three times their size and emerge victorious. However, the army they were currently facing was approximately seven times their own. There was hardly any way they could hope to win. They were currently losing the battle of attrition. The Bloodless had civilians who knew how to farm and produce other foodstuffs. The Bloody Side was quickly losing supplies.

They desperately needed aid. Danzo knew that they needed it and he was all too willing to provide it. For the appropriate price of course.

A door slid back and Terumi Mei entered the room. She worn a very non-traditional outfit, consisting of the standard Kiri Jounin Outfitting accentuated by a sky blue scarf wrapped around her neck, the Kanji for Mizukage emblazoned in golden thread on it.

She took a seat across from Danzo on the other side of the oaken desk. Her red hair was pulled back into a ponytail and pushed underneath her shirt. She glanced expectantly at Danzo, waiting for him to speak. Danzo frowned. Speaking first was a sign of submission. He didn't like being forced into a subordinate position beneath a woman, but he would do it, for his plans.

Clearing his throat, Danzo began the conversation. "Good evening Mizukage-san."

If the Mizukage was offended by his use of san, she didn't show it. "Good evening Danzo-san. What exactly brings you to Kiri? I didn't think that Roots liked too much water."

Danzo took the barb at his hidden organization in stride. "I have heard troubling news of the Civil War here in Kiri. My contacts have assured me that your side is undoubtedly going to lose this confrontation. Sad really. Even an aging Shinobi was able to slip past those Civilians," Danzo spat the word like it was poisoned. "Into your… _stronghold._" Indeed, the Mizukage was holed up the tower, the surrounding area barely held by her shinobi.

"Yes… it is rather unfortunate. We are simply outmatched in numbers. We can easily destroy an entire battalion of these ill armed civilians, but what good does it do? Another thirty simply join up against us. It would take an all out frontal assault to destroy them." Danzo showed no reaction to the Mizukage's dismal situation.

"Is that truly the only way in which you can win this confrontation? You are facing civilians. Even outnumbered as you, your might should be enough to easily crush them. Even a house of cloth cannot withstand a single iron fist." The Mizukage narrowed her eyes.

"I know your policies Danzo. We are the Bloody Mist for a reason. Why are we currently slaughtering each other? Because we've been doing it to ourselves for years. Forcing Academy Students to slaughter each other for the right to become a Shinobi. We weren't enforcing our growth, we were crippling it! Unfortunately, we are in a bind at this moment. The head has a direction to go, but the limbs are rebelling…" Danzo regarded the Mizukage with a calculating eye. This... woman had interesting ideas regarding this war. Perhaps she was more useful than he had previously anticipated.

"Can you not poison the opposing food supplies? Surely with the way they gorge themselves, an effective poison would cripple them… And surely momentarily crippling an arm or a leg is worth it to salvage the body as a whole…"

The Mizukage nodded. "Yes. That would be quite effective. We would be hard pressed to create an effective poison in a quantity that would be sufficient for such a task, but yes, it would be possible. However, we would need extra assistance in distributing it. I assume you already knew this though Danzo. So why would you play around so much?"

Danzo made no change in his facial expression. "Because Mizukage-san, you would have dismissed me had I not led you to that conclusion yourself. And yes, it would be possible for me to provide the aid necessary for such a plan. Were you thinking large or small scale?"

The Mizukage frowned. "Small-Scale Deep Infiltration Team. They need to be in, and distributing the poison throughout all their supplies. Large scale would draw too much attention. We can't slip that many recruits in over that long of a time. We have to move quickly. Who are you going to send in?"

"I'm not sending in any of my ANBU. Tell me; with your current resources how long would it take to develop that poison." The Mizukage pulled out a few folders before reading over them for a moment.

"About a month. We'd only have enough for one shot at this too." Danzo nodded.

"I will have a team of two competent Shinobi here by the end of one month. Expect them." The Mizukage nodded.

"And what kind of payment are we looking at for the services of these two shinobi?" The Mizukage's lips were pursed in a frown. She wasn't expecting a small price tag for the liberation of an entire nation.

Danzo just smirked. The only reaction he had given throughout the entire meeting. "There is no monetary charge. Rather, I want something else from you for this service. The Mizukage narrowed her eyes. If he was asking what she thought he was… "Relax Mizukage-san. It is nothing of that nature. I assure you, I am quite the gentleman. I merely want you to speak with one of the Shinobi who I will be sending to assist you. You are most hospitable to people of all nature here, no?"

The Mizukage kept her eyes narrowed. "Yes we are Danzo-san. Are attempting to imply something?" Danzo smiled.

"Of course not Mizukage-san. You will know the Shinobi when you make his acquaintance. Konoha is not a suitable environment for a boy such as him. I was hoping perhaps you could convince him otherwise." The Mizukage's eyes hardened.

"I assure you Danzo, I will do just so. Nothing like the evils of Man to make one wish for their Home." Danzo nodded.

"Very well then. One month." The Mizukage also nodded.

"One Month." Danzo nodded before exiting.

As soon as the doors closed Mei's Anbu Team appeared behind. "I want you to tail him until he leaves Kiri. Contact our Deep Cover in Konoha. Have him keep watch for this Shinobi whom Danzo speaks of. Danzo wants this boy in Konoha does he? Were' not going to let that happen." The Anbu nodded. The leader stepped slightly forward.

"Mizukage-sama. What are your orders regarding our actions regarding the boy?"

The Mizukage thought for a moment. "Instill deep seated hatred towards the whole of Konoha within him. Make his life an utter living hell. And then, when he reaches that breaking point, throw him a lifeline. Only make sure this lifeline leads directly to Kiri. You have exactly one month to find this boy, and to make his life unbearable. Go!" The Anbu disappeared, the only thing marking their presence was the slightly mist they left behind.

Terumi Mei looked out the window at the large city of Kirigakure. She eyed the burgeoning Bloodless Population, vainly preparing for war. She knew it would end soon. She sat down at her desk. She activated a seal which brought her secretary rushing into the room.

"Yes Mizukage-sama?"

"Contact Mukakru and his team. Tell them to resume Plan #67 B." The secretary nodded before leaving. Mei picked up several of the folders on her desk before throwing them at the wall.

Blank sheets fluttered to the ground around the Mizukage. She knew what Danzo wanted. She knew he would send assistance to spread the poison. She knew he wanted that boy; she glanced down at another folder, Uzumaki Naruto, out of Konoha. Well, if Danzo wanted him out so badly, she would take him out of Konoha.

She would put him back later, as a saboteur and a sapper. At least, that was her plan. She frowned. Plans had a funny way of going wrong. Still frowning she formed handseals before biting her thumb and pressing it to the desk.

A large Crane appeared on the desk before her. He wore a red hotel employee's cap and carried a small booklet with him. He looked at her. "Ah, Mei-sama. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Business Kijuuki, (Japanese for Crane) business. I need you to find one Uzumaki Naruto in Konoha and offer him the Summoning Contract for yourselves or for the Otters." Kijuuki looked at Mei, surprise sparkling in his eyes.

"Why the interest in this boy Mei-sama?"

"He requires a group of friends. We endeavor to bring him here to Kiri. The Otters and the Cranes are signature of our culture." Kijuuki nodded.

"But if you wish to coerce him here, most likely through torture, oh don't be surprised Mei-sama. You've been summoning me since you were seven years old, I know how you like to work, and won't he reject your offer when he hears that you sent us?" Mei looked at Kijuuki for a moment before turning once again to the window.

"According to him, I didn't send you. I don't know, nor do I care how you make yourselves known to him, just do it. Find a reason." Kijuuki nodded.

"As you wish Mei-sama." With that Kijuuki began to scribble in his booklet before disappearing, shaking his head or nodding slightly every few moments.

Mei looked once more at the city of Kirigakure. "Kiri will be great once more…"

---Break---

On the road back to Konoha, Danzo muttered to himself. "Crazy woman. Thinking she can rule Kiri. When that sabotage attempt fails, the plants will swoop in from the Bloodless and destroy her pitiful army… Now… How are my plants in Kumogakure doing…?"

---End---

Whew! Another chapter done! I'm happy with this one. It turned out well. Unfortunately Kakashi and Naruto are denied their true interactions for yet another chapter.

The next chapter will focus mainly on Kakashi and Naruto leading up to the end of the Introduction Arc and into the Second one! The Second Arc will definitely be bloody and filled with more political intrigue! I'm trying to keep them fairly transparent to my readers, while non-transparent to each other. Sort of the, "Don't open the door!" being yelled at the movie screen.

Well, the next chapter is untitled at the moment, but keep watch for Chapter 9: Into The Bloody Mist.

**Important! Please Read! Important!**

**Tell me, what do YOU want to see Naruto using?**

**The Crane Contract, ****OR**** The Otter Contract?**

**Review and let me know your vote! The votes will be the deciding factor of which he uses!**


	8. Into the Bloody Mist

A Place in Time

Chapter 8: Into the Bloody Mist

A/N: Hey everyone! Eternal Thief here once again with another exciting chapter of A Place in Time! The votes are in! Let's tally them shall we?

**For The Crane Contract: 21 Votes.**

**For The Otter Contract: 24 Votes.**

As it stands, Otter is winning! The voting will be open for this chapter also as he will not be receiving the contract until probably next chapter. I will most likely offer him the contracts this chapters, so people can decide on which contract would better suit his personality on Pros and Cons. Now then, without further ado, I present to you, the long awaited A Place in Time Chapter that contains Kakashi and Naruto's first fight!

And one quick message to one reader who left 2 rather rudely written reviews that have since been removed. Naruto had a harder test because he graduated early because he needs to be able to survive! It makes no sense to make it easier, or everyone will be graduating at the age of 6 by knowing how to spell Apple! It's a curve. It's harder for younger students, because they need to be far above the normal level since they lack the years of training, conditioning, etc. You can't skip out on harder level objects, by leaving early by taking an easier test! It makes no sense. And perhaps I have a few mistakes. I'm not writing this professionally, I'm writing it recreationally. I do owe it to my readers to try and be literate, but that doesn't mean I'm perfect. So if you're to Flame my story, keep in mind it doesn't make me feel bad about myself, nor do I really care. I just delete your reviews after reading them. I apologize if you read this and you're not the person who left those reviews. This must have been a waste of time. Kind of like how that one reviewer wasted my time.

---Begin---

Naruto rolled over in his bed, pulling the covers over his head. A loud blaring noise filled the apartment coming from the small clock Naruto kept situated next to his bed. With a groan, Naruto reached over and smacked the clock. However, that did absolutely nothing, and the clanging beast continued to annoy the living hell out of the Genin. Smacking it again proved no more effective than it had the first time. Finally, heaving himself upwards, Naruto gripped the clock before flinging the offending object with such force, that it slammed into a wall, embedding itself there, the ring slowly dying out. Naruto sighed as he swung his feet out of the warmth of his bed.

Shinobi alarm clocks were more of a pain than any other type. The only way to stop their ringing was to either A, throw them into a wall, or B, hit them with a large metal object. Pans were a favorite. Naruto had obviously settled for the former. Besides the fact that the clock was now lodged in the wall of Naruto's apartment, it still told time. It told Naruto that he had needed to meet up with Gai's team in about half an hour, at Seven. Before he would head to Training Ground Forty Five to meet with Kakashi.

In his sleep dazed state, Naruto fixed himself a light breakfast consisting of some eggs, bacon and several glasses of orange juice. To a Shinobi, a breakfast such as that was considered _very_ light. In a few years, Sakura and Ino would completely disregard that fact, half way starving themselves to death for the sake of the attraction of a boy.

But regardless of that fact once again, Naruto wouldn't be paired up with Sakura nor Ino for that matter. Nor would Sakura have Kakashi as a Genin-Sensei. Well, he thought she wouldn't. He wasn't quite sure if he would reach Jounin by that time. He doubted it.

Naruto let a small smile come to his face at those thoughts. His being on a team with Sakura and Sasuke had been perhaps the worst thing that had ever happened to him. He had basically worshipped Sakura, and she actually did worship Sasuke. An expected, but no less disturbing discovery when he finally found _that_ out. Sakura's physical and Sasuke's mental abuse had taken a toll on Naruto that weren't fixed until he ha been about twenty three.

When Naruto was twenty three he had finally been married and Sakura, in an attempt to get Sasuke to return to Konoha was killed, and Sasuke, in his bid for vengeance on Konoha, was killed. Naruto chose not to remember his wife. She had been a civilian and he had thought he loved her. Discovering she was a spy from Iwa who was sent to assassinate him didn't really improve his disposition. She had betrayed him right as war had erupted. As such, he had killed her and delved deeper into his work.

Naruto had never quite fully recovered from that. He had flashbacks even before he was sent back. But he pushed them aside in order to maintain his sanity. However, since he had come back, his mind had steadily been healing.

With the smile still on his face, Naruto set out for the Training Ground in order to meet with Team Gai. However, he had forgotten one incredibly important detail that he would later kick himself for, and most likely dread for the remainder of his existence.

Naruto's arrival at the Training Ground was met with two figures, clad in green _spandex_ of all things, disgusting, eye-shriveling, sense-torturing, far-too-tight, oh-dear-god-save-me, green spandex. And apart from that, both _men_, were currently involved in hugging each other. Tightly. In tight spandex. Shouting each other's names, while the image of a sun setting on a beach, the light reflecting gently off the rolling waves appeared behind them, highlighting the horrific torture that was this scene.

Naruto's mind shut down at the sight. His mouth hung slightly agape, and his eyes became vacant. It was the slight continuous groan that began emitting from his mouth that alerted Team Gai to the appearance of their newest training partner.

"Lee! It appears our most Youthful Companion has feel into a most Unyouthful stupor! We must hurry to revive our companion lest this terrible fate becomes permanent!"

"Yosh! Of course Gai-sensei!" As the two approached Naruto with the intent of doing who knows WHAT to awaken him, Tenten, as Naruto would later put it, "As though she was sent by Kami himself!" stepped in to take care of the situation. Neji was too busy contemplating his Fate to care about the situation. He had attained a point of consciousness where he was able to subconsciously ignore anything related to Lee or Gai unless spoken to directly.

Tenten stepped in and held up a hand. "Not so fast boys. This looks like it could use a woman's touch." Gai stopped as did Lee. He placed his chin in his hand before nodding.

"Yosh! Tenten is right! As the most gentle and caring of our team, she is the best suited to caring for our comrade! We shall watch and learn, as Tenten, with the grace and delicacy of a swan, gently awakens our comrade from his stupor! Her caring and gentle soul will…" Before Gai could finish, Tenten had pulled her arm back and given a mighty swing. Her palm connected with Naruto's cheek, giving a loud resounding smack sending his head to the side.

Gai and Lee were stunned. Gai suddenly burst into tears over how unyouthful of an action it was, and that their friend deserved better treatment than that. At least he did before Naruto began to rub his jaw, smiling appreciatively.

"Ah.. thanks Tenten-san. I needed that." She nodded happily.

"Just don't make me do it again Uzumaki, that stung!" Naruto just laughed sheepishly. Gai and Lee noticed as he turned his gaze to them. They both gave him the nicknamed, 'Good Guy Pose.' This pose involved setting a steady stance with one's feet, setting the left hand, clenched in a fist, on one's hip, angling the right side of the body towards the target, stretching out the right arm, forming a thumb's up, and grinning brightly.

The effect was disturbing. While not as bad as the hug that had plagued Naruto's nightmares ever since he saw it when he first met Lee and Gai, it was still quite creepy in its own right. Pushing that aside Naruto decided to get Lee and Gai.

"So, what's on the schedule for today?" Naruto gave a slight grin, hoping that they wouldn't notice the too obvious subject change.

"Yosh! Excited to get exercising! I like that Youthful energy Naruto-kun! We will begin with a few laps around the village! And if we cannot complete these laps, I will climb the Hokage Mountain using only my right arm!" Gai's shouting was getting irritating.

"Yosh! And if Gai-sensei cannot climb the Hokage Mountain with only his right arm I shall carry him up the side of the mountain using only my legs!" Lee began to imitate his Sensei. With a quick glance at Tenten who gave a frightened nod, they began to run. Neji seeing them leaving, came out of his subconscious meditation. He turned to ask what was happening only to be greeted with an all too familiar sight.

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!" Neji started to back away.

"No… no… NO!!!" Neji was about to turn and run when it happened. Lee and Gai seemingly _flew _into each other's arms as the sunset appeared behind them, the shouting of the other's name continued, Neji frozen in place. Neji's mouth started to quiver slightly after such prolonged exposure to the scene. Eventually, he gave in and turned, and ran screaming into the center of the forest located nearby. He had appearances to keep after all.

Naruto and Tenten continued to jog along the edges of Konoha. Naruto, while having great endurance because of the Kyuubi's presence, was tiring slightly. Konoha was after all, an enormous city. Tenten was obviously in better shape. She wasn't panting at all. During the currently silent run, Naruto decided to start a conversation.

"So, uh, Tenten-san. How long have you been going on these daily runs with the Green Freaks?" She looked over, a small smile dancing at her lips over his name for Lee and Gai.

"About a year now. Since I graduated the Academy really. Those days seem like such a long time ago now… I remember I couldn't even make it a quarter of a mile around the village at first! I never put much effort into physical training. The team's been good for me in that respect." Naruto nodded.

"I've hardly been out of the Academy and it still seems like a world apart. I mean… we sit around in a classroom for hours talking about what it is to be a shinobi… then we practice our jutsu and our accuracy and our Taijutsu and we're tested on it… And then we're out here. With a Jounin sensei actually experiencing it. It's oddly liberating, but also oddly terrifying." Tenten looked at Naruto with an odd expression. He had seemingly zoned out. Like he hadn't been at the Academy for years. Which was true that he hadn't. He had only passed the test this time around.

Snapping out of his gaze he grinned at her once more. "Well, I get what you're saying about being in better physical condition, but you're not even slightly winded! Shouldn't you be a little winded at least by now?" Tenten just smirked at him.

"It's a trade-secret." Naruto sighed heavily.

"Trade-secret eh? We're both Konoha Shinobi, so surely you can share?" Tenten just continued to smirk before finally giving in.

"Alright, alright. The secret is to coat your lungs with a layer of chakra. You can enhance your muscles with chakra, and your organs. The chakra allows your lungs to absorb more oxygen from the air you breathe in, which in turn keeps you better oxygenated and less short of breath. It's also a good idea to cycle your chakra throughout your body as you run. You build up lactic acid as you exercise, and the chakra helps to disperse it." Naruto nodded at the explanation.

At his first attempt, Naruto became slightly dizzy. Tenten just laughed at his expression. "It takes some getting used to. You gotta be careful that you don't overcharge your lungs or you end up passing out. Basically you hyperventilate in normal length breaths." Naruto nodded. They continued their run for a while in silence, enjoying the calm.

Naruto glanced up into the sky and noticed the position of the sun it was almost ten. "Sorry Tenten-san but I need to meet with my Sensei now. I enjoyed our run and look forward to tomorrow." Tenten smiled and waved as he left. Once he was out of sight she gave a heavy sigh.

"Why couldn't he be a few years older? Maybe then I wouldn't have gotten Fate Boy and the Green Team…" With a resigned sigh, Tenten continued running.

Naruto made his way to Training Ground Forty Five. He jogged onto the field at nine fifty eight. Using the last two minutes before Kakashi arrived, Naruto steadied his breathing and prepared himself, mentally going over his supplies. It was no surprise, when right at ten Kakashi appeared at the Training Ground, his eye gently curved upwards in an imitation of a smile.

"Ah! I see you're here! Now then, before we start, I'd like to clarify a few points. You are not being tested as a normal Genin. You have shown plenty of aptitude of the shinobi arts, and you are an Apprentice. You will not be tested on teamwork, as the other Genin teams will, you will be tested on proficiency. I'm going to be testing you to see if you're worthy of being trained by me. Think you can handle that brat?" Naruto just glared at the not-much-older man. He was underestimating Naruto to a severe degree, and that was his mistake.

"I think so Kakashi-_san_." The honorific was spat with more venom that a deadly snake's bite. "What sort of proficiency will you be looking for?" Naruto never let up on the glare. He still couldn't completely forgive the man for what he had done. And he was being a real ass too.

"Oh, just the general things. You know. Taijutsu, Genjutsu, Ninjutsu, Weapon skills, Ninja Tools proficiency and any bloodline abilities you might possibly possess. I need to know exactly what sort of skills you have before I can begin training you." Naruto still had a glare leveled at the man.

"And what are you going to be training me for?" Kakashi smiled.

"You are going to become Konoha's newest, and one of the most highly proficient, Assassination Specialists! Rest assured, you won't be lacking in your other skills. What good is an Assassination Specialist who can't defend himself?" Naruto nodded. Kakashi just smiled once more. "Now then. Shall we get started?" Naruto nodded.

Kakashi simply stood in place as Naruto watched him. He didn't move, he didn't speak, he did absolutely _nothing_. And it was starting to tick Naruto off. He could feel his anger welling up in the pit of his stomach, before it got too far, he took a deep breath to calm himself. Kakashi gave an appreciative nod. Naruto reached into his left leg holster.

Kakashi watched as Naruto reached down to his holster. _'Hmm… Shuriken. Probably aiming for a mass area attack. A slight deflection should handle it.'_ In Konoha, it was traditional to wear the shuriken holster on the left leg, and the kunai holster on the right. Kakashi watched as his hand flicked up wards, releasing several projectiles in his direction. Gathering chakra to his lungs, Kakashi blew out a gust of air, not even strong enough to be considered a jutsu, but powerful enough to stop a shuriken thrown by a Genin.

Kakashi was surprised when the projectiles easily passed through his gust of air revealing two kunai, not a group of shuriken that he had originally predicted. His one visible eye widened the slightest bit before his hands gave a quick flash, and the kunai were left spinning, the rings of the kunai passing over his right index finger and thumb. He gave a quick glance at Naruto who was now reaching into his right holster.

_'Definitely shuriken this time.'_ Kakashi watched as the projectiles were thrown at him once more, but something was off. They weren't all shuriken. He leapt slightly to the side, kunai and shuriken passing by. He glanced at Naruto again. _'Mixing his holsters… Unusual, but effective.'_ He landed, his hand flashing out to send the two kunai spiraling towards Naruto.

Naruto simply watched as the kunai headed for him. He began to form hand seals, but before he could finish one of the kunai slammed into his forehead, knocking him backwards, while the other connected with his chest. He flew backwards several feet before landing on his back, his eyes the picture of surprise. Kakashi's eye widened. He hadn't actually meant to kill his student!

Rushing to the motionless body, Kakashi bent over to see if he could hear his breathing. He couldn't. He glanced at the wounds, an enormous amount of blood pouring forth. He failed to notice the green tinge of the blood. Opening Naruto's mouth, Kakashi prepared to resuscitate the Genin when he noticed something odd. There was a leaf in Naruto's mouth. Kakashi pulled the leaf free, and as he did, Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving behind a pile of leaves. Kakashi's eyes widened. _'A bunshin…!?"_

Almost immediately a foot made its way towards Kakashi's head. It hadn't even brushed his silver hair before he had moved out of the way and spun round, lashing out with a fierce jab. He felt his fist connect with flesh, but the impacted didn't reel backwards. He took a moment to observe Naruto. He had blocked the punch with his forearm, which would probably disable the appendage for a minute or so, and his kick had missed. Before he could take another observation, Naruto's fist lashed out at Kakashi.

Leaping just out of the range of the fist, Kakashi felt cool metal prick at his stomach. Glancing at Naruto's fist, he noticed that he held three kunai in each hand, extending his range, and giving his hands an almost claw like quality. A quick bodily sweep notified him that he held three kunai in his other hand too. These kunai were being used similar to Asuma's Trench Knives. However, they had larger handles meaning it was harder to hold them. Kakashi wouldn't have to use much force to knock the kunai free.

Naruto lunged at him once more, sweeping his hands in an attempt to slash Kakashi, but Kakashi leapt well out of range. Naruto stopped and took up a stance as he eyed Kakashi. Kakashi reached down into his equipment pouch.

_'No way in hell is he pulling out his porno now!'_ Naruto rushed Kakashi in an attempt to draw his attention back to him. He still remembered the burning putrid sensation of when Kakashi first began reading porn while they fought.

While he was running, he took his eyes off Kakashi's hand. He missed when the hand emerged, holding two kunai. He missed when he tossed one to his other hand. He didn't however, miss when the two kunai came down on top of the middle kunai in each of his hands. With a cry of distress, Naruto dropped all six kunai. The impact had driven the handle into his fingers, nearly breaking them.

It was Naruto's turn to leap away as Kakashi began to press the attack, flipping the kunai in his right hand into a reverse grip, placing his left hand in perfect slashing position, while his right was in perfect stabbing position. He leapt forward attempted to deliver several slashes to Naruto's midsection.

Leaping back once more, Naruto formed several hand seals. Kakashi watched carefully, waiting for whatever it was he was doing. Under the cover of the handseals, Naruto channeled chakra along wires he held in his hand. Once the wires left his hand, they immediately fell to the ground before travelling a ways, ending attached to the handles of six kunai now lying behind Kakashi.

The chakra controlled wires leapt upwards in life-like motion behind Kakashi. The kunai quickly spun around Kakashi at an outrageous speed. Naruto didn't aim straight for Kakashi as the Kunai were only being held stable by the spinning motion. Without it, they would fly out of control due to the sheer amount of force straining the wires.

Once Kakashi was sufficiently tied up, Naruto formed several real handseals, ending in Tora. Kakashi's eyes widened. Naruto took a deep breath, filled his lungs with chakra, converting the air into a flammable gas. He exhaled in one enormous breath, his chakra superheating and igniting the gas, while at the same time holding together in a large sphere.

"Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" The fire quickly flew down the wires and incinerated Kakashi. Naruto immediately dropped the wires before leaping back near the edge of the forest. A quick hand seal and some chakra caused seven Narutos to rise from the surrounding trees. With a simple hand motion, all the Narutos disappeared into the foliage. As he expected, once the smoke cleared all that was left in place of where Kakashi had been was a burnt and charred rock.

Naruto Made a quick glance around him, and silently using chakra pushed the earth out of the way forming a pit. He crawled inside and formed a sheet of rock over him using chakra and pulled the dirt back in a similar manner. He created a small tunnel with the Earth affinity granted by the Kyuubi, and circulated fresh air with his wind affinity. Lying there, Naruto began trying to develop a plan.

Meanwhile, Kakashi just sat a short distance away in a tree, unaware of Naruto's hideout. He ran through their battle in his mind. His Taijutsu and weapons use were fairly decent. He seemed as though he was trying to overextend on his Taijutsu moves. Kakashi chalked it up to him trying a style he wasn't built for just yet. His Ninjutsu hadn't been tested extensively yet. His Genjutsu either. He didn't believe Naruto had a Sharingan, so he nodded to himself. More Genjutsu and Ninjutsu.

Leaping into the field once more, Kakashi glanced around. Even with the jumpsuit on, Naruto was pretty good at evading people. However, once seven Narutos burst from different points in the foliage and began to charge him, he had no trouble identifying where they where. With a few quick handseals Kakashi laid an incredibly weak Genjutsu over the field. When the Narutos just kept running Kakashi sighed. The kid was worse at Genjutsu than he thought. The clones had made no motion to even acknowledge they were in a Genjutsu.

Imagine Kakashi's surprise, when while in his Genjutsu, one that moved himself five meters to the left, the clones continued to attack his corporeal form. They weren't even being bothered by the Genjutsu! Kakashi frowned and cast a stronger Genjutsu over the area. This one simply gave the image of him lighting the field on fire with a Katon jutsu. While his first was only a simple E-rank, this one was a D-rank. Once more, the clones didn't react.

Frowning deeper, Kakashi cast a Genjutsu that caused the bearer to think their skin was peeling off. A high B-rank Genjutsu. The clones shook their heads and kept on attacking. Getting fed up, Kakashi kicked a clone in the face, sending it back several meters. However, the clone didn't disappear. Kakashi's eyes widened. He hadn't been informed of the powers of the Konoha bunshin.

Summing up his chakra, Kakashi quickly pulled up his headband and caught one Clone in an S-rank Genjutsu. The Tsukiyomi wasn't the only Sharingan-Powered Genjutsu there was. The clone stopped for a moment, shivered and resumed its attack. Kakashi gaped in amazement. The clone had just _shrugged _off his Genjutsu! An S-RANK Genjutsu! Kakashi growled to himself before he set about systematically destroying all of the Narutos that surrounded him. When he was done, he gave a cursory glance. Naruto was around there somewhere.

Naruto, back in his hole opened his eyes. With a quick stretch in the confined space, he gathered chakra to his legs, bent his body inside the hole, and gave a mighty kick. The chakra empowered kick, plus his use of his Earth affinity, propelled him a good distance through the ground. When he stopped, he could feel Kakashi's chakra signature a few feet away. Once more gathering chakra to his legs, he leapt out of the ground and latched onto Kakashi's back. Kakashi's eyes widened when he burst from the soil.

Kakashi made a few grappling attempts to pull Naruto from his back, but to no avail. He cast the D-rank Genjutsu once more to try and get Naruto to let go. Naruto felt the foreign chakra lay on top of his. He also felt as his own chakra quickly overpowered the foreign chakra. Shrugging off the Genjutsu, Naruto smirked. If Kakashi wanted to play Genjutsu, he'd play Hardball Genjutsu.

Kakashi started straight ahead as Naruto dropped off his back giggling. This was one of his more, devastating Genjutsu. It was a D-Rank, true, but what most Shinobi overlooked was that it wasn't the rank of a move that mattered, but the application. Uchiha Shisui became famous for his use of Shunshin, a D-rank. So, Naruto had gotten creative with his Genjutsu. Unable to use most Genjutsu of High-A or S-Rank, Naruto had done what he could with the less devastating ones.

Kakashi's world had suddenly gone white. Blank, pure, untouched white. Glancing around he saw nothing. He heard nothing. He could feel nothing. He could smell nothing. He bent over and licked the white floor, he supposed it was. It had no taste at all. He frowned. A total sensory deprivation Genjutsu then. He frowned. Naruto should know it was far too easy to break this since he knew it was a Genjutsu. However, just as he formed the Ram seal, his eyes widened and he stopped.

Standing in front of him was Sarutobi. He blinked and rubbed his eyes. Sarutobi was still an amazing age, but now he was a _woman_. And then, to Kakashi's horror, Sarutobi began to dance. A strange music filled the air and a pole grew out of the floor. Sarutobi began swinging around the pole, dancing in a… provocative manner. And then, he dropped the Hokage robes, revealing a skimpy two piece bikini underneath. Kakashi tried to scream, but no sound came out. The only noise was the music playing _'My humps, my humps, my lovely lady lumps.'_ And to his horror once more, Sarutobi began to sing along.

With what remained of his free will, Kakashi spun around, and ran. He stopped when he ran out of breath and bent over panting. He would never be able to get that image out of his head. He once more raised his hands into the Ram seal concentrating his chakra, when a hiss was heard. Glancing behind him, he found the one and only Orochimaru.

To his relief Orochimaru was still a man. He opened his mouth, his long tongue dangling, saliva dripping menacingly to the floor. He formed a few hand seals grinning.

"I've been waiting for this moment for a long time Kakashi." Kakashi crouched, settling into a fighting stance. Orochimaru finished his hand seals, and in a poof of smoke, Orochimaru appeared once more. Clad only in a black banana hammock with a snake running along its length. Once more, the pole appeared from the ground, and Orochimaru started to dance.

Kakashi screamed. He tried to run, but he hit an invisible wall. He turned and found Orochimaru still dancing staring at him, wagging his eyebrows. "Like what you see Copy-Ninja?" Kakashi vomited inside his mask a little. And then to his horror, a familiar voice appeared behind him,

"Kakashi! It is wrong to run from your Hokage!" Turning, he found the female Sarutobi once more dancing one a pole. Then to his horror, the two dancers spotted one another, winked at each other, and began dancing _with each other_. Kakashi's eye began twitching. Then, the worst imaginable thing occurred. Another voice joined in.

"Kakashi! My most youthful Rival! Why have you not joined the youthful dancing of our comrades!" And there stood Gai. Clad only in a spandex Speedo. And then he too began dancing. Kakashi's mouth was now wide open. His eye still twitching.

Then, Asuma appeared and joined the dancing. Then, a male, and quite muscular at that, Kurenai joined in. And then a fully clothed Anko. The fact that Anko was wearing seven sets of sweatpants, two hoodies, four sets of mittens, nine pairs of socks, three pairs of shoes, eight facemasks, four hats, six pairs of sunglasses, _twelve_ trench coats and a bathrobe disturbed him just as much as the near-naked Orochimaru.

When Jiraiya and Tsunade appeared, each reversed in gender and looking about a hundred and seventy five, Kakashi smacked himself. Nothing happened. It wasn't until about half of Konoha's population, the more obese and quite frankly disturbing, (Morino Ibiki in a Life guard's uniform) half, and Kakashi's _nin-dogs_ appeared that Kakashi frankly gave up at the absurdity of it all, and began dancing with them. And as soon as he did, he found himself once more standing in the Training Field, Naruto standing not far off, grinning. He sighed.

"I think this test is over…" Naruto grinned and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Kakashi just glared at him. He motioned for Naruto to follow him as he walked over to a training post and hopped on top of it and sat down, motioning for Naruto to do the same. Naruto sat down and Kakashi sighed.

"Naruto. Would you mind explaining what in the _hell _that was! And what time is it…" Naruto grinned sheepishly, shrinking in on himself.

"Well, it's a D-rank Genjutsu that places the bearer in a senseless world. The only senses are those granted by the Dancing Figures." Kakashi gave him a look that said, 'Explain.' "Well, the Dancing Figures are the people who the bearer knows the best, and would never even consider thinking of in a sexual capacity. It starts off with one or two figures, mainly the ones who would freak out the bearer the most. And it progresses through multitudes of people. It only ends when the bearer gives up and starts dancing with them. It's also designed that when the bearer focuses Chakra, it adds another dancer to shock the bearer into losing concentration and releasing the chakra, allowing the Genjutsu to absorb it. And it's only about ten seconds after I cast the Genjutsu. I can't get rid of the time dilation factor." Kakashi nodded.

"I don't ever want you to cast that Genjutsu on me again. For any reason whatsoever."

"But what if…"

"EVER." Naruto nodded. "Now then. Report back here tomorrow for our first mission!" Kakashi smiled and disappeared in a twirl of leaves. Naruto leaned back and sighed. Unconventional if he did say so himself. Kakashi didn't even tell him what he needed to improve on. This thought brought a grimace to his face as he snorted.

He grabbed his things and was about to leave when a voice popped up behind him. "Hey kid!" Turning, he glanced around but didn't see anyone there. He turned back and shrugged. "I'm talkin' to you ya giant walking billboard!" Spinning around he took another glance around. This time he spotted an otter sitting the ground about thirty feet away.

He looked at the otter. "I've gotta be goin' crazy… Thinking animals are talking to me."

"What, you think animals can't talk?" Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the otter's mouth move and heard the words he spoke.

"I thought only summoned animals were capable of speech! So how in the world are you talking!" The otter just kind of stared at him.

"Who said I wasn't a summoned animal?" This put Naruto on alert as he glanced around for the Shinobi who summoned the otter. "Relax! I'm a Summon Creature, but I'm not a _summoned_ one. I came here by myself. Well, on orders of my Boss actually. He seems to like you and wanted me to offer you our contract." Naruto was getting incredibly suspicious now. Animals didn't just offer up their contracts.

"Why are you doing this? Surely you have some ulterior motive?" The otter just laughed.

"How do you think Shinobi got summons in the first place? They impressed 'em. And you my friend, have impressed the Otters. So, if you'd just like to sign our contract right there, on that line there, we'll be yours to summon!" The otter gave him a lopsided grin as he pulled out a large scroll decorated in brown and blue. Unraveling it he found only a few signatures. He was about to sign it when another voice appeared in the conversation.

"Now please arrest your movements for just a moment my dear boy. I do not believe you have taken the appropriate amount of time to consider all of your options and adequately think your way through this decision." Naruto blinked as a Crane of all things landed next to the otter and had begun talking. "You see, the Cranes have been similarly impressed by your abilities and have also made the decision to offer you the chance to sign our Summoning Contract. If you choose to do so, you may sign here." The Crane produced a scroll that was decorated in white and blue. Only three people had signed it.

Naruto glanced between the two. The reserved Crane and the outlandish Otter. "Okay… What do I get from each of you if I choose to sign your contract?" The otter laughed once more.

"I like this kid! He wants to know what he's gonna get! You'd make a good businessman kid. You ain't too trusting and that's not a bad thing!" The Crane almost seemed to sneer at the Otter's manner of speech.

"Yes… as this… creature put it, it is not a bad idea to know what you will receive from a deal. Very well. I will explain to you the benefits of the Cranes." The crane straightened himself and lifted his head.

"We cranes are a proud and noble race of creatures. We specialize in speed and aerial maneuvers. We are quite good at Fuuton and Suiton Jutsu and their adaptations, and we make excellent message carriers." Naruto nodded. The Otter just mimicked the crane jabbering in a high-pitched voice.

"Bah whatever! You guys are a bunch of stuck up-feather sacks! I'll tell you why OTTERS are the way to go!" Otter straightened himself and sneered at the Crane.

"Otters are less strict and stuck up thank old fuss bags over there." The crane honked indignantly. "We specialize in Doton and Suiton Jutsu. We're good at stuff like swimming and adapting. We're resourceful little buggers. We're not all about pomp and circumstance and what not like puff-body over there. We're down to earth family oriented fighters." Naruto nodded.

"So then. What is your choice for summon young shinobi? " The crane bent over expectantly.

"Yeah. Who ya gonna pick Billboard?" Naruto glanced between the two scrolls.

"I don't know." The crane merely blinked while the otter fell over.

"What! Whaddaya mean ya don't know!" Naruto just looked at the indignant otter.

"I don't know. Give me some time to think it over and I'll give you my answer." The Crane nodded and the Otter grumbled.

"Alright. Just sign whichever contract you fancy and summon one of us when you decide. We'll be waiting." Naruto nodded, lifted both scrolls onto his shoulders and left. Once he was out of sight the Otter turned to the Crane.

"Who do you think he'll pick?" The crane looked at the otter.

"I am not quite sure. We will have to wait and observe his actions regarding the contracts. In the mean time, we should probably report back to Mizukage-sama." The Otter nodded.

"Do ya think he'll, ya know. Impress her enough to get Option Three?" The Crane looked at the Otter.

"I do not doubt that it is entirely possible. However, you know how strict Mizukage-sama is regarding… those, conditions." The otter sighed and nodded.

"Yeah… But I like the kid so far. Even if he is a billboard." The Crane gave a slight laugh at that.

"Undoubtedly so. But in the mean time, we need to decide the best plan of action for getting him to join Mizukage-sama." The Otter was the one to blink this time in surprise.

"Are you kidding me? Didn't you watch the kid at all before we got here? The kid's gonna join Kiri no matter what…" The crane nodded solemnly. Konoha held no love for the blond Jinchuuriki. Giving each other one last glance they each disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Far away, Naruto made a slow and steady trek to his apartment. An Otter and a Crane waging war in his mind…

---End---

I apologize for the terrible battle scene. I'm no good at them. And we're finally getting to the real meat of the plot! And as you can see, the Cranes are more like the Hyuuga in personality while Otters are more like the Inuzuka.

Next chapter, Kakashi and Naruto make their way into the Mist Village! This chapter was very Naruto and Kakashi centric. And the Genjutsu was meant to be incredibly absurd. Don't give me any flak about it. It is rather useless yes, and it's one of the few things I slip into my story for a bit of comedy. Like the Retrieval ANBU. It's not meant to be serious, and it probably won't make another appearance.

On that note, please leave a Review by clicking the button below! Hope you all are still enjoying reading this story as much as I am! Until next time, Eternal Thief, signing out!


	9. Bone Dry Rain

A Place in Time

Chapter 9: Bone Dry Rain

A/N: WOW. I have been gone for such a very long time, and for that I apologize.

Anyways, without further ado, I present to you, the 6th month late 9th Chapter of "A Place in Time."

-Start-

Terumi Mei glanced outside of the Mizukage's Tower in the middle of Kirigakure. The city was falling apart. Buildings were collapsing from neglect, and starving people, children included, roamed the streets, searching for food, and for purpose. And just beyond the edge of the stone wasteland, a veritable ocean of pitched tents. Lines of smoke rose among the tents, carrying the delicious aromas of various foodstuffs and meals.

Fish, pork, beef, vegetables, fruits, everything imaginable was being cooked on open fires in the tent city. People sat on makeshift benches, warm mugs held in their hands as they laughed, a suckling pig roasting on a spit in front of them, the crackling juices dripping onto roasting potatoes below. They joked and chatted and enjoyed the time that they had with each other.

Not even a thousand feet away, people huddled together in rags, other people their only source of warmth. A slow cold drizzling rain began to fall upon the ruined city. The citizens merely glanced skywards, their tired faces mirroring their eyes. They didn't feel the rain as it pelted them, they hardly felt anything anymore. They had become numb to the world around them. Outside the stone walls of Kirigakure, they glanced at the sky, small frowns marring their faces before setting up a canvas over the fire and resuming their activities.

Mei frowned at the state of the once grand city. Before the Sandaime Mizukage, things had been going just fine, but resent against Bloodline Users had just barely begun to grow. It was understandable. Shinobi feeling underappreciated for not having a Bloodline, resenting their superiors for holding Bloodlines, but never acting on it, or truly holding it against them. Once the Sandaime had come to power, and his Advisor was held in such grand esteem. Things began to fall into disarray. Bloodlines became the reason for every misfortune.

Bloodline users began to retreat into hiding, to hide their latent abilities in the hopes of leading normal lives. They succeeded for a time, and things quieted down. In the mean time, the Sandaime's Advisor was whispering in his ear how pestilence was spread through blood, and how abnormalities were the downfall of pure blooded Shinobi. How hard work was how Shinobi were made, not through bloody gifts, but his Advisor didn't stop there. How could Kirigakure become the most powerful nation while still relying on the powers granted by blood pacts with demons? They couldn't. So Bloodline Users had to bed purged.

And so the Purges began. Bloodlines Users were crucified in town squares, hung by the neck until dead from trees, drained of blood, their houses painted red in it, dismembered and decapitated. Their bodies were mutilated and their families made examples of. Few escaped from the Purges. The hatred of bloodlines was only fueled by their acts of self-defense. A Hyouton User killed an entire village as they attempted to run him down and kill him. Eventually the Sandaime fell ill and eventually died.

The Bloodline Users took this opportunity to rally together and seize the capital city. Believing victory imminent, they hadn't bothered to give any thought to their future in the city, and as such they fell into deep troubles. Quickly their food supplies began to dwindle. There was no way to grow food in the great stone city. And the fishing boats had been burned at the beginning of the purges. The fertile land lay outside of the central city, under control of the Bloodless Faction which had quickly seized their own opportunity to hedge in the Bloody Faction and starve them into surrender.

The Yondaime Mizukage had been forced to resort to drastic measures, calling on a small but elite squadron of shinobi from Konoha to infiltrate the Bloodless Faction, and bring them to their knees. She stared out the window contemplating who they would send when a series of two puffs of smoke behind her alerted her to the presence of two creatures behind her. Turning, she was face to face with an Otter and a Crane.

"Well. What do you two have to report?" Mei gave the animals a hard stare, expecting a curt response.

"We have made adequate contact with the boy and he does not yet suspect that we are Agents of Kirigakure. He believes we have only observed his strong will and chosen to grant him our contracts. The relatively low number of previous Summoners has aided our credibility in the situation." The Crane spoke in elegant diction and bowed deeply to the Mizukage.

"Yeah. We don't haveta do anythin' to get that kid to come here. Kid is living in a veritable Hellhole. Give him the opportunity to get his ass here, and he'll come runnin' faster than anything you've ever seen. I guarantee it." The Mizukage gave the Otter an astonished glance.

"Are you sure?" The Crane nodded in response to the Mizukage's question.

"I too can vouch for the deplorable conditions under which this poor child is forced to live. I feel that it would be possible to move up our Time Table concerning him at any pace we feel necessary, and not risk jeopardizing them at the same time. I would suggest withdrawing the Special Forces form Konoha and requesting the team arrive sooner than we had originally asked. We must move quickly, for I fear although our plans may not suffer from leaving the boy in that Village, he himself may due to the conditions under which he is living." The Otter nodded vigorously as the Crane spoke.

"If I may Mizukage-sama, send the message using the Cranes. I wanna talk to this boy some more. I feel like, I dunno, like he could use an actual friend. Not like those two-faced lyin' jerkwads over in Leafy Land." The Mizukage nodded at the Otter's request.

"Very well. Permission granted. I will send the message using the Cranes to Danzo to send the team as soon as he can." The Crane nodded as the Mizukage headed to her desk and began to draft a message to Danzo requesting the team be sent as soon as possible. The Crane patiently awaited the message while the Otter bowed before disappearing, heading towards Konoha in whatever fashion it was that Summon animals used.

-Break-

Danzo sat in the middle of Konoha Park, holding his cane in front of him, his eyes covered by bandages, staring at the ground in front of him. A light breeze ruffled his coat slightly, but Danzo did not move. His body was as still as any statue. The silence surrounding him was only broken by the soft whispering of the breeze as it made its way through the trees. The sun was just beginning to rise when a strange noise lit the air, one not normally heard anywhere near Konoha. It was this noise that drew Danzo's attention skyward.

A large white bird slowly came to rest on a branch nearby Danzo's head. It swiveled its head around as though searching for some object in particular. It ruffled its feathers once, before lifting a wing and pecking at it lightly. It glanced at Danzo before pecking at its wing once more. Feigning concern, Danzo rose from his seat laboriously and walked over to the majestic bird.

"You poor animal. You must have a thorn caught in your wing." The bird nodded slightly. Danzo brushed his hand across the wing, in an act of searching for the "thorn."

His hand came to rest on a loose feather, that he plucked quite easily from the plumage, and gave it a quick glance. A small red seal was written on the delicate feather.

"There you are young bird. The thorn is gone. I will take great care to ensure no one else suffers from this thorn." The bird understood Danzo's implication and took off once more. He had one more message to deliver to their Deep Cover Agent in Konoha.

Danzo gave a quick cursory glance before unsealing the scroll held inside the seal on the feather. It appeared in a small puff of smoke, its edges rimmed with navy blue, the seal of the Mizukage's Office emblazoned on the front of it. With a frown Danzo unrolled the parcel and glanced over its contents. A smile crept onto his face. He could make use of this.

Danzo quickly began a hobbled walk towards the Hokage's Office. He needed to inform the Hokage of their new time table and how he had two agents specifically in mind for this task, but their identities had to be kept secret, so they would not be compromised. The Sandaime would assume he meant ROOT agents, but normal Shinobi were agents too. Danzo gave a laugh as he continued his walk.

Several minutes later, the elderly Hokage sat staring at Danzo who was giving him an intense stare. Sarutobi sighed heavily before beginning their conversation.

"And why Danzo, do you believe it to be such a good idea, to aid Kirigakure, the "Bloody Mist," and one of Konoha's long term enemies, by sending in two Deep Cover Agents to commit mass genocide." Sarutobi had taken one sentence, and pointed out, in the past Kirigakure had hated and attempted to destroy Konoha, and that this was quite simply put, mass genocide.

"Simply because they have been our enemies in the past sir. We have before us a single opportunity to swing our relationship concerning Kirigakure completely around, while securing almost any terms we want with them. We are in position to gain a very much needed ally on our terms, not theirs. We currently only have a shaky treaty with Suna, both Kumo and Iwa despise us, and Kiri is currently indisposed! We could swing the balance of power Sarutobi." The Sandaime gave Danzo a hard glare.

"And do what then Danzo? Wage war on Kumo and Iwa? Crush them in an iron fisted rule by controlling the center of the continent? We'll be no better than them Danzo! I will NOT stand by and allow you to use the pretense of forming Alliances, as a thinly veiled cover for World dominance!" By the end, the Sandaime was practically shouting. Danzo however, was unfazed.

"Sir, have you seen the state of Kiri? They're in an awful situation, with children starving. Unless we intervene, they will become victims of mass Genocide. We're picking the more honorable side. Will we be seen as horrible murderers who simply cut down an enormous faction? No. If our part is ever found out, we acted in the defense of those who were attacked by their own people. My goals have never included crushing Kumo and Iwa. I only aspire to help Konoha to become more of the great country that she is. And forming an alliance with a country that holds veritable tracts of fertile farm land and access to numerous fishing ports is a boon to the country." The Sandaime sighed as he couldn't argue that Kiri would make a valuable ally.

"Alright then. I'll allow you to send two Shinobi into Deep Cover. I will not ask you who you are sending, no doubt they are members of your ROOT Anbu, and their names wouldn't provide leads of any sort anyways. I just want the two of them out of Konoha by this afternoon." Danzo nodded. This meeting had been simpler than he had expected. With a serious air, Danzo rose from his seat and left, thanking the Hokage as he did.

Sarutobi turned and looked at the sprawling city of Konoha that lay before him.

"Konoha, Shodai, Nidaime, Yondaime, please forgive me for what it is that I have just sanctioned. I have made this decision for the best of Konoha, and for all of its people. I hope that it is the right decision. I have made every attempt to follow the Will of Fire that you spoke of, and that this country was founded upon, and it is these principles…" The Sandaime droned on in his office, asking for the forgiveness of his predecessors and his successor, and the country as a whole for the act of Genocide he had just sanctioned as Hokage of Konohagakure.

-Break-

Naruto yawned as stretched and sat down at a stool at the Ichiraku Ramen Stand in Konoha's Market District. Old man Ichiraku as he was affectionately known smiled and began preparing a pot of Miso Ramen for his favorite customer. He opened his mouth to say something to the young boy but his daughter Ayame poked her head in from behind the back room.

"Dad, there's some kind of bird out here and he looks hurt. Can you help him?" The chef's smile never faltered during his daughter's question.

"Of course Ayame, come take care of Naruto's meal while I check on this bird." The girl nodded and stepped into the shop and put on an apron and started washing her hands. Ichiraku opened the door and stepped into the back room, and Naruto swore he saw a flash of white, but put it out of his mind as being nothing more than a loose apron. Ayame smiled as she struck up a small conversation with Naruto while the pot of water boiled. Ayame didn't show it, but she knew something was up with the bird in the back. She knew to trust her father's judgment.

Old man Ichiraku stepped outside of the small stand to find the "injured" bird standing, waiting for him.

"Ah. I see your daughter was as diligent as ever in delivering my message to you. I trust that I am not being too much of an inconvenience Ichi?" The bird actually turned out to be the messenger Crane that had left Danzo not very long ago, and was now striking up a conversation with the stand owner.

"Look, deliver the message quickly. My best customer is in there, and I don't want him to get suspicious about why it takes so long to look at a bird." The crane laughed at his predicament.

"That boy in your stand is the exact reason why I have been ordered to come here Ichiraku. Distribute the latest orders from the Mizukage to our under cover agents. They are to return to Kiri as soon as possible. The plan is being pushed up." Ichiraku gaped in surprise at the Crane's message.

"You can't be serious! First you want me to make a young boy's life a living hell, and now you're retracting that order? It'll take a few days to reach the operatives with the news… And how does all of this concern Naruto?" Ichiraku was giving the Crane a suspicious look.

"I am sure you remember the Mizukage's initial order to influence the boy's decision to join Kirigakure. We've decided to speed the plan up. This also requires you to pull out of Konoha. We're retracting your deep-cover Special Jounin Ichiraku Mugashi. You are to return to Kirigakure in two weeks' time once the other operatives have been noticed." Ichiraku was horrified by this news.

"What do you mean we're pulling out? How can we possibly keep up to date on what's going on in Konoha without agents!" The Crane merely cast a disinterested glance at the faux Ramen Chef.

"We have our ways. Now, relay your orders to the other agents and prep for depart. You have two weeks. If you are not having left Konoha in that time, we will alert the Oi-nin of your defection and have you removed. Is this understood Ichiraku?" The old chef grumbled to himself at the Crane's matter-of-fact speech.

"Yeah. It's understood." The Crane nodded.

"Good. I will see you in two weeks Mugashi." With that, the Crane spread its impressive wing span before alighting to the air once more, heading off to a deserted location to de-summon itself and return to the Mizukage. Ichiraku sighed despairingly and trudged back inside the stand. He had some bad news to break.

Ichiraku came in to the front of the stand to find Ayame chatting away gleefully with their number one customer. Ayame cast him a quick glance which he responded to with a seemingly innocent stretch. Ayame recognized the symbol. They were going to be moving out soon. Ichiraku turned to Naruto and was going to break the news to him when a Shinobi descended just outside the stand. He entered walking at a brisk pace.

He approached Naruto before speaking, his voice coming out distorted, as though it was being filtered through a machine. "Are you Uzumaki Naruto, Rank Genin, Shinobi ID Zero Zero Seven Six One Four Nine Zero?" Naruto just nodded confused. The Shinobi simply reached into his utility pouch and pulled out a scroll the edges tinted with blue. "Emergency Mission Assignment. Priority Level Zero. Eyes Only." Naruto nodded. His experience with missions had given him extensive knowledge of Priority Levels. They were taught in the academy, but seldom learned until a Shinobi reached Jounin.

Naruto turned to the Ichiraku's. Bowing graciously he left a small pile of money on the table to pay for his meal. "I'm sorry to leave in such a hurry, but I am sure you understand the importance of Shinobi business." The Ichiraku's nodded earnestly, as most civilians would as Naruto dashed out of the stand. The other mysterious figure simply disappeared while they were talking, most likely using the Shunshin to leave.

The elder Ichiraku glanced at the younger one. "Ayame. Head into the back and retrieve the Special 40% Off Posters. Hang them in the usual spots." Ayame nodded and headed into the back. The 40% off posters were frauds advertising a new drink bar. The first week they would have all drinks 40%, water would be free as usual.

These posters signaled to under cover Kirigakure operatives that they were pulling out in a week from the date printed on the poster. The 40% off indicated a Code 4 Pull-Out. Leave nothing behind. They would not be returning to Konoha.

Naruto stopped his run down the street and stepped into a dim alley. He unraveled the scroll and inside found a hand-written mission assignment.

_"Operatives. You have been specially selected for a deep infiltration assignment. You are to group at the Konoha East Gate at 1200 Hours today. From there you will head towards Kirigakure. Upon arrival at the camp surrounding the city, you will infiltrate their ranks and sabotage their supplies. Below is a Storage Seal containing the Sabotage Supplies. Operative Inu will receive the Code Blue Supplies. These are to be used in the food of the high ranking Officers, including the "Bloodless" Mizukage. Operative Kitsune will receive the Code Red Supplies. These supplies are to be distributed into their water storage. Once your supplies have been planted and the mission completed, head for the Mizukage's Tower. Prepare for slight resistance from the Bloodless troops. Once you have reached the Tower relay this message to the Mizukage._

"_The Hurricane rises from-"_

_ All Operatives have a different message. The Mizukage will have the second half of each message to ensure you are who you say are. If you are ever split from each other, simply ask the other, "The Leaf does not-" If they are an operative, they will respond with "Burn in the Fire if it is of the Will."_

_ Destroy this message as soon as you have memorized all necessary portions and removed your supplies."_

Naruto channeled a bit of chakra into the seal located at the bottom of the scroll and a small backpack emerged. Opening the backpack he found it packed with bricks of a reddish color. Located at the bottom of the bag was small scroll. Opening it, he found another small seal. Channeling chakra into it, it released another several hundred bricks of red powder.

The backpack also contained a message stating that the Red Powder was safe for consumption, and could be passed off as high calorie rations as long as no water was consumed three hours before or after the red powder was consumed. Doing so would prove fatal.

Naruto glanced into the sky and noted the position of the sun. It was almost Noon. A quick burst of fire chakra and the scroll containing his mission was incinerated. With a quick concentration of chakra the red bricks were sealed back into the small scroll. Naruto grabbed the backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He reached for the bottom of the strap and pulled out a high tensile strength coiled steel cord before attaching it to a small metal clip on his belt. The cord was wound throughout the backpack so it wasn't easy to remove. If the strap was broken or the bag grabbed, the cord would hold the bag onto Naruto rather than risk losing it.

With another quick glance at the sky Naruto set off for Konoha's East Gate.

Kakashi sighed as he leaned against the East Gate. He glanced down at his utility pouch, thinking of the small brick of Blue Powder wrapped in Cellophane. He was a bit apprehensive about the deep cover. After all, he was Hatake Kakashi, son of Hatake Sakumo, Konoha's White Fang. He was a very recognizable character. Kakashi glanced down the street waiting for the second operative to arrive.

A moment later the strange shinobi who had delivered the message appeared next to him. Actually noticing his appearance this time, Kakashi glanced over him once.

He wore a black body suit with extra fabric layered over almost every part hiding their gender. Their hands were covered in thick black leather gloves. They wore a black hood, a black hitai-ate barely visible underneath, the symbol of the Leaf was visible. Their face was covered by an odd black metal contraption similar to a breathing mask used by Kiri Shinobi, and they wore large black shades to hide their eyes.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "I believe you must be Operative Kitsune then?" The figure turned its head slightly.

"No." Kakashi just stared.

"Then what are you doing here?" Kakashi asked a completely legitimate question.

"I am here to deliver your Masks. For this mission you will be placed under Anbu Regulations and will be treated as temporary Anbu members." Kakashi blinked. Temporary Anbu members? That was almost unheard of, but it was also a way of joining Anbu. If you showed promise, you would be placed in missions as a Temporary Anbu member, and based on your performance you could possibly be chosen to join Anbu. But it rarely happened.

Kakashi stood expectantly waiting for the second operative to arrive, the strange figure next to him not moving at all while also presumably waiting for the second Operative. A few minutes later, Kakashi noticed Naruto jogging up the road carrying a small backpack. He finally came to rest in front of Kakashi and the odd shinobi.

"Good. You are both here. I am sure you understand your mission. Here are your Anbu issue masks. They must remain on your faces the entire time you are on this mission. Applying chakra to them will cause them to adhere to your face until you do so once more to remove it." The odd shinobi handed Naruto a grey Fox mask, while handing Kakashi a similarly grey dog mask.

Naruto eyed the mask oddly. The inside was simply white porcelain, but the masks were near unbreakable. Concentrating a small amount of chakra to his face, he gently placed the mask over his face, and gasped as the mask stuck itself to him. Giving it a slight experimental tug, the mask refused to budge. Naruto marveled at the feat of Chakra Engineering that was the mask.

He had heard of Anbu issue masks before. The mouths contained a special chakra filter to filter out any harmful poisons or toxins, and could also allow a Shinobi wearing the mask to breathe under water. The eyes contained special amplification filters that allowed Shinobi to see in the dark. The sense of smell could also be enhanced by another filter located in the nose of the mask. All of these were powered by chakra and designed by Anbu Researchers.

It was truly a marvel of engineering. Naruto had never been issued an Anbu mask in his previous life. He instead preferred to simply wear a red face mask to cover his features, and being that he breezed through Anbu and was appointed Rokudaime Hokage not long after, there wasn't much time for them to force him to wear an Anbu mask.

Naruto glanced at Kakashi who was already wearing his Inu mask. With a quick nod they leapt into action, quickly scaling the wall of Konoha using chakra, leaping over the top and disappearing into the forest beyond. The mysterious figure watched them go. After a minute they reached up and removed their mask.

Under the mask was a figure with black hair and dark eyes. She glanced into the sky for a moment before sighing. "He's on his way Terumi-sama. I only pray Tou-san has no objections to this plan…" Before replacing her mask she rubbed the palm of her left hand, the tattoo of a small tree invisible under the thick gloves, the promise of the escape from this awful place taking precedence in her mind.

With a sigh she replaced her mask and began her trek back to report to her superior that the mission had been accomplished.

Naruto and Kakashi dashed through the forest attempting to make the best time that they could. This mission was very time sensitive. The Mizukage's forces in the city could be over run at almost any time and they needed to be there in time to prevent that…

-Break-

Naruto stretched his arms out and gave an inaudible yawn from underneath his Anbu mask. Naruto was about to ask whether or not it was possible for him to sleep without the mask on, but Kakashi had already lain down for sleep his mask still in place. Naruto sighed. No such luck. The mask wasn't much of an inconvenience, but Naruto missed the feeling of wind on his face as he ran.

As he was about to lie down, Naruto reached into his utility pouch and retrieved a small scroll. He unraveled it, and channeled chakra to one of the small seals. A large scroll with a blue and brown lining popped out. It appeared old and fairly worn, and was tied shut with a blue and brown cord ending in a tassel. Naruto carefully undid the tie and unrolled the scroll. After unrolling it nearly all the way, he glanced at the top of it. There were a few names signed on a couple of lines, most of them incredibly faded, a few only barely hanging on. There were no recent signatures.

Naruto reached up and bit into the pad of his thumb, letting the blood flow freely. With a quick flourish he signed his name in his blood on the scroll at the next open line. His name briefly glowed gold before it was locked into the scroll. Naruto gave a soft smile. He had made his choice.

Naruto made several hand signs and slammed his hand into the ground, barely putting in any chakra. He felt an odd pull on his chakra, and he let it take the small amount that it need. A puff of smoke emerged from the signs on the ground and an animal popped out. Naruto grinned and greeted it.

-Break-

Matairo Gusishi sighed as he placed his chin in his cupped hand, leaning on the arm of his chair. He glanced around at his troops, laughing and cajoling, and generally enjoying themselves. None of them seemed to notice their downtrodden leader. He sighed once more as he considered what he was doing.

He was continuing a bloody legacy of extermination rather than attempting to live in harmony with those who had Bloodlines. It was an awful position to be in. Gusishi had never wanted to be put in charge of the Purges, he just _had_. When the factions sprung up, Gusishi got caught on the wrong side of the fence.

He glanced at his left hand, his ring finger empty, the outline of a ring still visible on his ring finger. He told a likely story, his wife had been killed by Bloodline users out looking for senseless blood, and he had taken up arms against them for that very reason. The truth was far different.

Gusishi had been married to his lovely wife for only a few months when the Purges had begun springing up. His wife had begged him to leave the country and escape the bloodshed. He had insisted that they would be fine, neither of them had any bloodlines. His wife had continued to plead with him, but with his strong refusal, she said the one thing that could make him change his mind.

_"If not for me, then for our child."_

Gusishi had immediately begun preparations to leave the country. However, transportation was nearly impossible to find. It was weeks before they had an opportunity to leave. As they were leaving, his wife used her Wind and Water affinities to cool water for them to drink on the way, using Hyouton. Several Bloodline haters had seen her and assumed wrong, that she herself had a bloodline.

They had slaughtered her, and "saved" Gusishi from her claws. Gusishi had been in shock from the loss of his wife and unborn child. He had unleashed his rage on the three men. Even pieces of them were never found. He had wandered for days afterwards, before collapsing near a Bloodless Camp. They took him in and nursed him back to health, where eventually through an odd series of events; he ended up being appointed Bloodless Mizukage, all without ever taking up arms against Bloodline users.

He swore he would do all he could from inside to undermine them. However, he hadn't had much opportunity. Shortly thereafter they had forced the Bloody Faction into the city where they holed up, and a siege began. It was with all the free time he had now that Gusishi reflected back on all the time spent there.

He had removed his wedding ring, keeping it safe, being unable to bear thinking about his wife while associating with the scum that had murdered her and taken an innocent child's life. He was planning to somehow force the Bloodless to surrender; he just needed a proper outlet to force them to.

It was at this moment that a scout ran into the room panting.

"Matairo-sama! We found two shinobi a fair ways from the camp at Outpost Seven! They were being taken in when the first messenger was sent! I arrived here as soon as I could! They seem to have been horribly disfigured, by a Bloodline user no less! They wear animal masks to hide their disfigured features! Your orders?"

Gusishi perked up at this news. Animal masks were uncommon outside of Konoha, but none of these Civilians would know that. Only a trained Shinobi like Gusishi or his wife would. He knew almost immediately what their purpose was.

"Bring them to me. We must show them the hospitality and justice those bloody monsters will not!" The messenger nodded and set out once more, the crowd around Gusishi cheering at his decision.

He smiled and sat back down. He knew how to force the Bloodless Faction to surrender. And these new recruits were going to help.

-End-

A/N: Near the end there are Time-Skips of a few days. Next chapter, the long awaited entrance in Kiri! I hope this chapter was acceptable, I finally started it a few days ago, and finished it now. I left this story alone for too long and I apologize. I forgot how much fun I writing it, but the reviewers had made it clear how much they like it!

Anyways, the next chapter includes the beginning of the Sabotage! I bet few of you suspected the Bloodless Mizukage to be such a sympathetic figure eh? Bit of intrigue there. Tough Bastards make much less intriguing villains than Tragic Ones. I suppose I could have had his wife murdered by Bloodline users and make him defiantly hate them, but this plays into the sabotage so much better.

I'm also starting my Senior year on Monday. Due to this I will have to cut down my writing time. I will try to put out a chapter every 2 - 4 weeks. However, due to my participation in my School's Theatre Program, much of my time is consumed by memorizing lines, lyrics, and music for performances, or crewing them. So some chapters may be late.

So, for now, Farewell. And expect the next chapter of A Place in Time: **Blood is Deeper than Water** soon! And kudos to all of you who can guess which summon Naruto picked! Although it shouldn't be hard.


	10. Poison Water

A Place in Time

Chapter 10: Poison Water

A/N: Taking a break from Empty Shinobi. Pending yet another re-write on it. It's a hard story to get written the way I want it to. I may go back and edit a few chapters of this story, as a lot of people are opposed to Naruto's record of his past life. I have my reasons.

WHY does he keep a record? To answer a reviewer who said "I will no longer read your retarded Naruto." He still wants to have a connection to his life; after all it was his LIFE. And although his new life may be better, he still wants to remember everything that went wrong while it was still fresh so he wouldn't forget. Although the scroll will NOT be around much longer. Its significance will die off very soon.

-Begin-

"_They have taken our livelihoods…_

_They have taken our loves…_

_They have taken our homes…_

_And they have taken our Freedoms…_

_We will take their Lives."_

_-Matairo Gusishi to his Wife's Grave_

Naruto and Kakashi were led by a small group of armed Civilians. They were headed towards the quarters of the infamous Bloodless Mizukage, Matairo Gusishi, or as they referred to him, Matairo-Kami, or Matairo-sama. To them, he was a messiah. Sent by God to purge the land of the unclean, of the ones who opposed him and mocked him with their unnatural demon abilities.

Beneath their masks the two Shinobi scoffed at them. Religion held no place in a Shinobi's life. "Thou shalt not kill." Commandments such as those opposed the very standards of Shinobi Life. Those that did believe in a God of some sort had their own notions of what he wanted. The most extreme being those of the Church of Jashin. More of a cult believing in the mutilation of their victims through an odd ritual involving their own mutilation to appease their blood-thirsty God.

Regardless, it was a few minutes before the two Shinobi were brought in front of the man in charge of the camp. The man known as the Bloodless Mizukage. The two Shinobi were… strangely underwhelmed by the appearance of the man. By all accounts he was a bear of a man who could withstand the force of the elements himself, and could merely lift his hand and they would be quieted by the sheer aura of power he radiated. When standing face to face with this man, the two shinobi could not help but wonder who it was creating these accounts. And how much of the Mizukage they had _actually_ seen.

To them, it seemed as though it was not much. Gusishi was a man who stood at about six feet four inches. A man of considerable stature, but he was lanky and thin. He had some muscle yes, but nowhere near the body-building physique the stories made him out to have. His hair was a dark brown, long, hanging down to just past his shoulders, pulled back into a ponytail. He had a goatee surrounding his mouth, and dropping off of his chin a short ways. His fingers were long and thin, and his hands were quite bony. His face was gaunt and his cheeks and eyes were sunken and dark.

Upon meeting the two Shinobi, he rose from his chair and strode forward, long purposeful strides with a slight limp in his right leg. He waved a hand and dismissed the other members of the room.

"Good day good day to you. I have already heard of your plight from the messenger sent ahead of you by my associates. I do hope I am able to aid you in some way." His voice was deep and smooth, but it held a certain roughness to it, as though he was choking back tears on every word.

"It is good to meet you Mizukage-sama. My brother and I have been travelling a long time, seeking refuge after the atrocious crimes that were committed against us." The Inu mask was the first to speak. Gusishi nodded in response.

"Please, we are all brothers here. Call me Gusishi-san. I insist, but the others insist on referring to me as Matairo. I m so sorry to hear that your faces were disfigured by those horrid demon-spawn, bloodline users. May I ask why you have taken to wearing animal masks?" The Kitsune-masked one nodded.

"Certain Gusishi-san. As I am sure you are aware, our faces were disfigured by the attack. As such we were ostracized by our family and community. Everywhere we went, we were greeted with hatred and disdain, we were tainted they told us. We bore the marks of Bloodlines users. We acquired these masks to conceal our horrid faces, and we swore never to remove them until the day we could exact our revenge on those who did this to us. Our faces slowly began to heal from the grievous wounds inflicted upon us, and as such, the masks have become grafted to our skin. I fear even if we wanted to, the masks would be impossible to remove. They would at the very least, tear portions of our faces away, leaving us worse than before."

To demonstrate, he gripped his mask and pulled on it lightly. The mask did not budge, as it was attached firmly to his face. The Mizukage nodded lightly. He glanced around the tent for a moment before stepping outside.

The two could hear him order the guards around the tent to leave. At their tentative questioning he nearly yelled at them, asking them if they thought their Mizukage was so incompetent as to be taken apart by two wandering fools.

The guards left soon after.

The Mizukage re-entered the tent a moment later. "I apologize for that. I would rather not have them listening in on our conversation, as I am sure it is a very sensitive subject for you two, am I right Inu-san, Kitsune-san?" The two nodded in response to the Mizukage's question. "Now, as I am sure you are aware, I was a jounin of Kirigakure before the Purges began, and as you may not know, it was the murder of my beloved wife that drove me into this war. I swore to avenge her death." The two shinobi stared ahead, controlled in their emotions, although inside they were swearing to themselves.

"Now, as a Jounin, I am aware of certain information pertaining to other Villages. Namely the fact that only Konoha Anbu wear animal masks. I can tell from a simple glance those masks of yours are no simple party favors. They're made to withstand combat and chakra usage. This brings me to my next question. What is your _real_ purpose here?" The Mizukage gazed condescendingly at the two Shinobi who quite close to swearing out loud now.

"I promise you Gusishi-san, we have come here wi-" Inu began, but the Mizukage cut him off with a stern glare.

"I trust you are here in an attempt to de-rail our attempted coup, and subsequent takeover of Kirigakure? If that is _indeed_ your true purpose, then I have a few choice words for you. _Welcome to the team._" The two shinobi were left gaping at the Mizukage.

"Gusishi-san, I'm afraid I don't understand! Are you saying you're a double agent, working for the Bloody Faction, attempting to cause your own coup to fail?" Inu spoke in a loud whisper.

The Mizukage sighed heavily. "As I told you, my wife's murder dragged me into this whole mess, but it wasn't just her murder. It was my child's murder too." The two shinobi were shocked. It wasn't uncommon for children to die in this war, but personal accounts were far different from tall tales. "My wife was pregnant with our child when we began our escape from Kiri. I wasn't able to protect her when a band of Bloodless thugs attacked her, thinking she had a bloodline, and was holding me captive to use as a hostage. If only I had left earlier, I was too darn stubborn thinking we could ride out this war without getting involved, and now my family is dead. I've sworn revenge against the ones who killed them, and that path eventually landed me in this position. I can do virtually nothing without being seen as suspicious, but _you_ can do so much more."

The two shinobi regarded the Mizukage with a wary eye. He sighed heavily once more. "I am being completely honest. I need people I can trust in this damned place, and I need them soon. The men are getting riled up and want blood. Specifically the blood of Terumi Mei. The rightful Mizukage. However, she's holed up in the city, running low on supplies, while we're out here hunting the wildlife to near extinction since the men refuse to farm. Their attacks on the wildlife are their "training" they say. Preparing themselves for an inevitable bloodbath." The shinobi nodded.

"And what exactly do you want us to do to help you?" Inu asked. The Mizukage smirked.

"My men eat and eat and eat and do almost nothing else. They dine on meat and fish and any stray fruit they find on trees. They were wary at the beginning as agents of Kirigakure would slip outside and poison the wildlife and fruit in an attempt to cripple us. They eventually let their guard lower once the attempts ceased due to their dwindling resources. If you could slip something into their food, our job would be made so much simpler." The Konoha agents glanced at each other before nodding.

Kitsune slipped the pack off his back, before laying it in front of the Mizukage. Unzipping the main compartment, he revealed a large number of red powder bricks wrapped in cellophane. The Mizukage gave a low whistle.

"That's a lot of product. Although it'll leave a good number of them alive, it should weaken them considerably. I don't know how skilled you two are but-" Kitsune raised his hand, cutting off the Mizukage.

"I assure you Gusishi-san; we have far more than just this to eliminate the members of your faction with. All we need is an opportunity, and the product will be appropriately administered to all of them. However, this particular agent requires water to work. Can it be assured that all those who ingest this will be drinking shortly thereafter?" The Mizukage smiled.

"Of course. I would appreciate it if one of you would propose a toast to me. To "inspire" the men, and get them to drink. I am not entirely sure how you two will avoid ingesting the product." The two nodded. They would have to be careful at the feast whenever it was held. "I will order the preparations for the feast to begin. We should be ready by tomorrow night at the latest. Be sure to be there. I must warn you though. If this attempt fails, the men will no doubt overrun Kirigakure. My official reasoning for this feast is a celebration of our attack on the city." The two nodded once more, both understanding the agreement. "Please, go and rest. Some of the others may wish to speak with you. Entertain them. I encourage you to rest well tonight. Tomorrow may be a difficult day to stomach." With that, the Mizukage showed the two out of his tent, before once more retreating inside.

"Inu-san. Why, pray tell, did you not tell him about the blue powder?" Inu glanced down at Kitsune for a moment.

"It did not seem pertinent at the time. And truth be told, I am a bit apprehensive about _why_ we were given separate products. There is obviously something to these powders. What, I do not know. Obviously their effects are meant to be fatal, but I cannot help but wonder why they were distinctly separated. One for the cannon fodder, the other for the elites. Something just seems off about it." Kitsune frowned underneath his mask. Inu was right.

They arrived at their designated tents, having been briefed earlier before their meeting with the Mizukage. They crawled inside their separate tents, preparing to settle down for a good night's sleep. Inu fell asleep with practiced ease, learnt from years of working in the field. Kitsune had a harder time falling asleep. He too had learned the same technique, but his body was too untrained to comply. He lay in his tent, thoughts of the effects of the powder filling his mind.

Why would there be two different powders? Was the blue one possibly more potent? Chakra triggered? The possibilities seemed to be endless. Naruto eventually surrendered that train of thought and allowed himself to drift into a dreamless sleep.

It was almost noon by the time Naruto awoke from his slumber. He yawned before stepping outside of his tent, not needing to shade his eyes from the bright sunlight, the mask doing all the work for him. A quick glance over at Kakashi's tent told him that he had already left for somewhere else. Naruto decided to meander about the camp for a while to get a feel for it.

As he began walking, he noticed very few people were around. There were the occasional small groups of friends laughing and drinking some beverage or other. There were the young, small children who laughed and ran about the camp, many almost Naruto's age. The old and the infirm could also be seen milling about the camp. They had very little physical strength, and many were along simply to provide support for their friends and family.

It made Naruto nauseated to think of these innocent children and elderly persons' deaths. They would undoubtedly be caught in the firestorm that was to be the poisoning of the food supply. With a heavy sigh Naruto kept walking until he came to the edge of the camp.

He had wondered why the Mizukage had told him that the day would be hard to stomach. He honestly hadn't had any idea. When he reached the edge of the camp, he found out exactly why.

A few groups of people were beginning to emerge from the forests, carrying their kills with them. The proper way to hunt was to respect the animals and give them a painless death, and to only kill what you needed for food.

These hunters had thrown every single rule out the window.

They were coated in blood and grinning viciously. They carried kunai and knives, some dull and beginning to rust, caked with drying blood. They carried parcels of meat and had the coats of the animals strung up like flags, or being used as coats. Several groups were even dragging in animals that were still crying and slowly bleeding out from shall wounds. The hunters themselves appeared incredibly self-satisfied, as if this was what they had been made to do. To slaughter defenseless creatures and parade them about like carnival toys.

Naruto was nearly sick at the sight. Resisting the urge to throw up, Naruto walked past them into the forest, some of them shooting him smiles and sympathetic glances. Naruto had to admit. Although the acts that these men were committing were deplorable and a crime against Nature in a very literal sense, it was nice to feel accepted.

Terumi Mei sat in her office, hoping that the two agents Danzo had sent would be able to pull off the mass killing. She hoped that at least some of the civilians would survive the ordeal and would come to accept her as Mizukage, and to accept Bloodline Users. Mei had already seen a small flow of agents returning to Kirigakure. She was pulling back all remaining forces that she possibly could. She had a bad feeling about the other villages.

The current Hokage she knew, was quite old but still capable. It was obvious he would need a successor soon. The boy she sought to turn to her side would have made a possible candidate provided the old Hokage lived long enough for him to mature. All other likely prospects seemed daunting. A lazy perverted Jounin who was long past his prime due to wallowing in his own sorrow and was best known for his infamous Father, or an old war hawk with a penchant for things that were best left alone.

Suna presented other problems entirely. In the past they had worked together as both had used questionable morals. Suna for sealing Shukaku into a new born child with a faulty seal, simply to give themselves an edge over other villages, and turning their enemies into weapons through preservation techniques. Suna seemed to have more of a penchant for human weapons than Danzo. Kiri had always been known as the Bloody Mist for atrocious Genin exam and slaughter of their enemies.

Kumo was run by a muscle-headed body builder whose patience was only matched by strategic ability. Preferring the Strong Arm approach, he blindly rushed into any situation and attempted to pummel everyone he could. Their two Jinchuuriki, Yugito Nii and Killer B, brother of the Raikage no less, showed Kumo's love of the "Kill first, don't bother with questions." policy.

Iwa was mainly an enigma. Their new Tsuchikage was rumored to be incredibly powerful, and ran his country well, but he refused all diplomatic meetings and engagements, and isolated Iwa from the rest of the Elemental Countries. No one knew exactly what was going on in Iwa, and no reports could get out, and no spies could get in. It made any diplomat or politician very wary. There were even rumors that Iwa had over thrown their Daimyo and had taken control of the entire country and turned it into a Military State, more so than it already was.

Mei knew that if a conflict were to rear its ugly head, Kiri would be an easy target for resource expansion. They had prime location and were currently very weak. Mei needed to have all the capable Shinobi she could in Kirigakure, and getting her contacts out was important too.

It was true that she would lose some knowledge of what was occurring in other villages, but it was those spies that started the first Three Great Ninja Wars. Sure on the surface it was an intrusion into territory that later escalated, but underneath that were the politics and the subterfuge that fueled what would normally be overlooked as a misstep into an international conflict.

The First Great Shinobi War sprung up between Suna and Kumo. It was stated publically that Kumo had made several cursory attempts to acquire abilities found in Suna, such as Bloodlines and the Puppeteer Arts, through underhanded tactics. The truth was that Kumo's Daimyo had only half-bowed to the Daimyo of Suna who took it as an offense and wished for war. In reaction, the Raikage of the time ordered his spies to attempt to assassinate the Kazekage who retaliated by killing them and stating they had been attempting to steal Suna's techniques.

Attempted assassination of a Kage made for a good reason to declare war, but the politics that ensued were terrible. Suna would have lost prestige since the spies were able to reach their Kage, and although they were killed, the fact that they may have succeeded was fact enough for the tides of politics to turn.

The Second Great Shinobi War was started between Iwa and Konoha when the Nidaime Hokage, Senju Tobirama, had insulted the Sandaime Tsuchikage for how he trained his Shinobi. The Tsuchikage attempted to undermine Konoha's Academy afterwards, in response to which Konoha destroyed every major supply bridge in Iwa leading to war.

The Third Great Shinobi War broke out between Kumo and Konoha after Kumo blatantly attempted to steal the Byakugan by targeting Hyuuga Clan members that left on the village on missions. Needless to say, Konoha hadn't taken it lying down and had threatened Kumo. Iwa, seizing the chance that Konoha was distracted to the North, attacked from the West in an attempt to get revenge for the Second Great War. They were soundly thrashed by Namikaze Minato.

Mei wanted Kiri to in no way be responsible for the outbreak of another war. Kiri had no agents in other villages, or at least they wouldn't once the extraction process was finished and all agents had returned. Kiri could then sit out of the war as long as they wished and intervene on either side whenever they felt it to be appropriate, although Mei suspected they would end up facing Konoha no matter what diplomatic maneuvers they attempted.

If all went well, Naruto would turn traitor to Konoha and join Kiri. Harboring a Missing-Nin and accepting them into your Shinobi Force was a major diplomatic no-no. It was considered wrong because you were openly harboring a known criminal, which could possibly be overlooked depending on their Rank, and the fact that the Shinobi would hold valuable village secrets.

These village secrets ranged from something as simple as an uncommon way of forging a kunai, to as high as having information to blackmail the daimyo or Kage of the country, of course depending on Rank usually. There had been instances when a Genin in the wrong spot had been declared an S-Class Criminal.

The ranking system of the Bingo Book is often misunderstood. The ranking doesn't simply denote skill and strength, but it is also decided based on the severity of the crime. Kiri was a leader in that respect, in that they had only had a few A-class criminals, and no S-class. Konoha was a sore loser with more S-class Criminals originating there than from any other country.

In any case, avoiding war while simultaneously building up forces was a tricky task. Often it was required for a Missing-nin to change their appearance and mannerisms, and quite obviously their names, in order to better blend into a new village while still maintaining the plausible deniability of being from a different village.

There was no way that there that many vagabonds wandering throughout the continent with Shinobi Training, but there was often no way to tell.

Sighing, Mei looked out at her village once more. She had been doing so more and more often lately. There were so many problems that needed to be solved and they couldn't even begin to start fixing things until the other Faction was crushed, and it wasn't looking too good. She could see the swirls of smoke curling out from the camp in the distance, the soldiers no doubt preparing a feast in preparation of some attack.

Mei turned back to her desk, glancing at the few sheets of paper lying on its surface, turned once more and exited the Kage's office. As she walked towards the door of the tower, she turned to her secretary.

"Order all the active Shinobi to meet in the Town Square in a quarter hour." The secretary nodded at her Kage's instruction before preparing the message. Mei walked out the door, her blue dress' tail following slightly behind her.

She began to head for the Town Square, intent on making tonight the last night that this Civil War would go on.

Naruto sat next to Kakashi as they watched the civilians finishing the preparations for the feast. They had already distributed the powders amongst the chefs earlier, Naruto claiming the red powder to be a form of seasoning, the chefs, welcoming anything to change the flavor of the meats, as they had been without herbs or spices for some time now, graciously accepted. Kakashi had instructed that the Blue powder was exclusively reserved for the officer's meals, and was to be added just before they were served in order to prevent any mix ups concerning the food.

The two were seated at one of many long wooden tables, each one with a long wooden bench on either side. The tables were lined with plates, some of them cracked or broken, but still usable. Men around them sat talking and cheering jovially. At the head of the tables was a smaller table where the officers, and Gusishi, were seated.

They watched as they servers finally brought out the huge platters of food. They carried out huge slabs of venison and boar. Stuffed birds and marinated rabbits weren't far behind. Platters of fruits and vegetables followed after, large trays of berries and apples and pears and even several bananas. Platters of smoked barbecue dripping with sauce and large steaks, the fat sizzling were carried out. An entire roast pig, an apple customarily stuffed in its mouth wasn't far behind the rest of the food. The parade of meats and sauces continued for several minutes, the tables becoming crowded with huge platters, sauces threatening to spill over, hands itching to tear into the soft flesh of the animals, mouths salivating at the delicious aromas that swirled upwards from the plates.

Kakashi and Naruto, although both trained Shinobi, were finding it hard to resist such a generous offering of food. Naruto then realized something. They were still wearing their Anbu masks. They were supposed to be disfigured. There was no way that they'd be able to eat without exposing themselves. Naruto shot Kakashi a glance that he could feel through the mask.

Kakashi chuckled momentarily. Before, they had eaten in private, removing their masks, but that wasn't possible now. Kakashi knew Naruto didn't have the experience to consume his food near instantaneously like he did, so Kakashi was forced to reveal to Naruto the secret eating method of all Anbu.

Bending over to his height, Kakashi whispered to Naruto the secret of how Anbu ate with their masks on. It was possible for the mouth piece portion of the mask to be removed. Naruto shook his head at the incredibly simple solution.

Turning to Kakashi he whispered to him. "And how exactly do you expect me to remove a single portion of the mask?" The Inu mask seemed to grin at Naruto as the portion covering his mouth split down the middle and slid into the interior of the mask, revealing his mouth.

"Just channel your chakra to the one portion of the mask. It'll do the rest on its own." With a quick nod, Naruto followed Kakashi's instructions, the mask opening, allowing him to eat normally.

Before the feast could begin, Matairo stood up, and all eyes turned to him as the noise quieted to nary a whisper. He stood tall, his gaunt face and limbs seemingly filled with power as he stood before the assembled men. He cleared his throat before he began.

"I, just as you all have, have been waiting for this day to come for years." A cheer went up in the crowds of men at those words. "We hold this feast, to fill our bellies and our spirits with energy and with vigor. For tomorrow we cease this senseless siege. We have held them in their city for months now, and what have they done? They've cowered like rats and vermin in the streets! They don't even dare to make attempts on our forces now! They've grown weak and pitiful from lack of food and fresh water while we've built our strength on good food and drink. For too long have we allowed them their lives! They have taken all from us! They have attacked our friends and our families! They have attacked our foodstuffs and our pets! They have torn at our dignity and our spirits! And what has been our response? To sit here and pick off the straggling demon that exits the city! Well I say no longer!" An even louder cheer went up from the crowd.

"We will take the fight to their doorstep, to their home! We will run them down like the pitiful insects that they are, and crush underneath the heels of our boots! Their blood will run in the streets, and it will paint the cobblestone paths red! Their bodies will hang from the trees and the buildings, strung up just as they strung us up! Not one of them will escape! And when it is finished, Kirigakure will be _reborn_! As a _pure_ nation! One of pure blood! One without the taint of demon spawn! These bloodlines users have been a taint on our lands for far too long! It is time we took them down like the vile beasts they _truly_ are!" The crowd roared with excitement at his speech. "I beg you now, not as my comrades, or as my soldiers, but as my _brothers and sisters,_ take up your arms with me this night! We are here to write history! Take these arms as your pens, take this ground as your paper, and take their blood, their tainted blood, as your ink!" The crowd roared their loudest yet, as he delivered his speech.

"But before we strike, we must feast! So I urge you know my brothers and sisters. Fill yourselves on this plentiful bounty, and tomorrow morning we strike them down!" The crowd gave a final cheer before they tore into the meal. Matairo gave a final glance at the two masked figures that were tearing into the food just as voraciously as the rest of them, praying that they knew what they were doing.

An hour later, the meal was dying down. There was still quite a bit of eating occurring, but the food frenzy had died down into civil conversation and cheerful chatter of the blood that would be spilled the very next day. Naruto glanced over at Kakashi before Kakashi nodded at him. Nodding in return, Naruto stood up, holding up his glass and a kunai. Tapping the kunai against the glass, he gained the attention of the camp.

"I would like to propose a toast, to our fearless Mizukage, the great Matairo Gusishi!" The crowd roared drunkenly in appreciation to the toast. "The man who so valiantly has led this crusade to make the world safe for children! The man who has made this day possible, who has helped us rise from the ashes of the fires that those bloody demons began! The man who has inspired us to be what we are today! To Matairo!"

"To Matairo!" The crowd roared back. With that final note, all but two people in the camp threw back their heads and drained the dregs from their glasses. For a moment, the camp was entirely silent. No one moved, and no one made a single sound.

It was as if time itself had come to a standstill in the camp. Then with a sudden lurch, time seemed to kick back. A man sitting a few tables away from Naruto and Kakashi suddenly began coughing. A man rose next to him intent on helping him, but suddenly began gasping for air, grasping at his throat.

All around them, similar scenes began occurring. People's eyes and ears and mouths and noses began to bleed, their screams filling the air. One man's cries pierced the air as blood oozed from his pores, coating him a bloody crimson. Another man began clawing at his face, tearing away pieces of flesh and blood, his face becoming a disfigured mask of horror. All around them, chaos began to erupt in the camp.

People began keeling over dead, all from different causes. Some seemed to go mad before slashing their own throats; one man could be seen lunging awkwardly with a kunai, attempting to stab anyone near him, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. Another man furiously clawed at the ground before repeatedly smashing his head into a rock on the ground, caving in his skull.

Some men began foaming at the mouth, their bodies convulsing into awkward positions, some crashing into each other with such force, the crack of bone could be distinctly heard. A quick glance at the officer's table found the Mizukage and his Officers seemingly untouched by the effects of the blue powder. Naruto gave a quick questioning glance at Kakashi who could only offer a blank stare in return.

With a quick burst of chakra, they sealed their masks shut once more, and began moving towards the Mizukage. Suddenly, next to the Mizukage, one of the men's arms began turning a dark red while the rest of his body began to pale. His breath began coming in rapid short breaths before his arm began to swell and quickly burst in a spray of blood and gore. His horrified shriek rent the air asunder as attempted to move his arm, now only bone with small pieces of gore still clinging lifelessly to its surface.

Naruto and Kakashi leapt towards the Mizukage, intent on saving his life, as it seemed he was unaffected by the blue powder, as were most of the other Officers, aside from the poor man whose arm was victim of a violent explosion. As they approached, they could tell that something _was_ happening with the Officers.

Their veins began to turn a thick inky black, and their skin began to pale. The man who lost his arm was no longer bleeding and seemed to no longer register the fact that his arm was now missing. A moment later, the bones forming his limb began to twist and bend and elongate eventually settling on a long hook like form. This new appearance shook the two shinobi, who attempted to formulate a plan of action, an enormous group of dying men behind them, grotesquely transforming men in front of them.

The Officers' limbs began to twist and contort into various shapes. Some forming blades or hooks or mallets of sorts, some of them their legs twisting and contorting into small spindly points, unable to support their upper bodies which began to expand, borrowing mass from the other portions of their bodies, they toppled over, making every attempt to drag themselves forward.

The Mizukage glanced over at them, his eyes filled with regret, as the veins began popping, his eye slowly bleeding into black. The main difference with the Mizukage was that it seemed his body wasn't using mass from other portions to augment a single one. It was an overall growth of his body, forming the man into a large pale skinned behemoth with bulging black veins.

His legs lengthened, his torso thickening, his hair simply falling to the ground leaving him bald and grotesque. His teeth grew longer to form enormous fangs. His body contorted and cracked, muscle tissue piling on top of muscle tissue, the thick fibers intertwining underneath his thick skin. Once him body had finished its odd transformation, he stood at over nine feet tall, leaning over on his large knuckles, his thick but somewhat stubby legs supporting his body almost like a bulldog. His eyes were pure black, large fangs protruding from his thick pale lips. He snorted, glancing around, his large nostrils sniffing the arm.

Kakashi leaned over to Naruto. "Kitsune. _Run._" The younger of the Shinobi needed no more prompting than that as he turned and bolted, Kakashi not far behind him. As they ran they noticed that some of the regular men who had ingested the red powder weren't dead. Some of them began to stand up, missing limbs or other portions of their bodies. Their eyes blank and dead, their skin a mottled red and grey from the blood and dirt, some of them looking more like the dead than living men.

They gazed blankly ahead, shallow breaths barely supporting their bodies as they tried to shamble towards the behemoth creature in front of them. Some of them picked up rocks or other discarded tools from the ground, groaning in some mixture of noises that sounded halfway between anger and sorrow.

Kakashi and Naruto watched in horror as the two sides suddenly came to a clash. The grotesque pale creatures, bulging with dark veins tearing into the men who could only be described as single minded. They weren't dead as their bodies spouted warm red blood, some of it landing on Naruto, as he could feel its dense heat seep through his clothing.

The less numerous pale creatures mobbed their way through the group of smaller enemies, tearing them to pieces without a single thought. They could see one attempt to fling a smaller creature off its back, only for it to dig its fingers into his flesh, attempting to tear chunks of it off. It swung its massive hook around, goring the creature on its back, as a large group mobbed it from the front, tearing into it, taking it down.

The blood splattered across the ground, the black ink like substance hissing and boiling wherever it hit. Kakashi and Naruto turned and kept running, the sounds of the battle behind them. Both were in shock at what had just occurred. The powders hadn't been simple poisons. They had done something to these men.

The red powder seemed to force the men's bodies into some kind of force battle lust. They wouldn't give up as long as their bodies could be forced to move. The blue powder seemed to transform the men, almost like Orochimaru's Curse Seal.

Naruto's eyes widened at that realization._ Orochimaru_… Naruto had a sudden inkling as to where Danzo had gotten the powders. He didn't have time to dwell on it as he and Kakashi drove onwards toward the gate of Kirigakure.

As they reached the wall, they channeled chakra to their legs, giving an enormous leap, landing partially up the wall, sticking to it with chakra; they ran the rest of the way up before flipping over the opposite side, landing amongst a group of armed shinobi, lead by Terumi Mei.

The female Mizukage blinked as she examined the two Konoha operatives she knew would be coming.

"The Bloodless Army has been defeated?" The Mizukage's first words were strictly business, as the two weren't supposed to report until the army had been destroyed. Panting heavily from the exertion, Naruto gasped out an answer.

"There were… complications… We've got…. kind of a large… problem on the… other side." A sudden loud boom echoed throughout the city as something pounded on the large metal gates that guarded the city. "Get back!" Naruto's shout echoed throughout the army as the gates began to bend and buckle if only slightly.

Taking charge of the situation, Mei began barking orders. "Fall back to the interior! Prepare all invasion precautions! Start the fires and warm the oil. Though they may breach this wall, they shall never reach the tower and lay claim to Kirigakure!" Naruto muttered to himself.

"I don't think they want the tower…" The Mizukage shot him a questioning glance, but before she could receive an answer, the gates buckled more, their hinges shrieking against the strain of whatever was beating on them.

With a final creak and an ear shattering crash, the doors to the city fell, and the battle for the City began.

-End-

And so it goes. Got some interesting plot development going on in this chapter. I know the whole transformation thing is somewhat odd, but as I said in the story, it's linked to Orochimaru and Danzo. You'll just have to keep reading to find out more. We're nearing the point where you'll find out for sure exactly which summon Naruto picked and how he reacts to the entire Kirigakure situation.

There is also a chance that this story will conclude before Chapter 15 before picking up with a sequel, or I can continue this story and not make it into two separate stories. Let me know your opinions because depending on which route you guys want me to take will have an impact on the actual storyline.

Up next, Chapter of **People of Wood and Puppets of Bone**! This just recently had its first chapter re-written, so check it out!

Also, check out my One-Shot **Did You Say Uzumaki?** And let me know what you think of it! Always looking for more reviewers for my lesser known stories!

Enough shameless self-plugging! Hit that button down there and make me a happy author!

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